Death and Lapses

*In a series of 2002 lapses, an investigator logged the death of a Harborview patient into the office computer, but the person was, in fact, alive; a pathologist, during an examination of a body in a suspicious-death case, overlooked the fact that the decedent had been shot; and the identity of Alice in Chains rock star Layne Staley wasn't entered into the office computer or passed down the line, causing "a notable delay in positively IDing the body," says Schoenborn (see "Smack Is Back," Jan. 8, 2003).

The county, while refusing comment, says it will vigorously challenge Halberg's lawsuit.

randerson@seattleweekly.com