On Thursday, December 15, Anisoara Frunza filed a personal injury/wrongful death suit against the Des Plaines Parks District on behalf of her daughter, Alexandra Frunza.
Alexandra, 28, was engaged in a legs exercise at the Prairie Lakes Community Center on December 18th of 2015 when she collapsed and fell off the machine she was using.
Video surveillance from the time of the incident shows that Alexandra was not found by community center staff for approximately 29 minutes and no care was administered for approximately 33 minutes, despite the availability of rescue equipment such as an AED.
Alexandra was pronounced dead at 5:02 pm, with cause of death reading “viral meningitis.”
Anisoara and the remaining Frunza family are seeking damages in excess of $50,000 to cover hospital and funeral expenses and for “loss of love, society, companionship and grief,” according to Journal and Topics Online.
The Frunzas’ complaint reads, “One of the essential duties of the front desk associate at the community center is to respond to emergencies in the facility that may include incidents of a serious nature.”
Officials from the parks department have declined to comment on the incident, though the department does plan to defend itself in court.
Anisoara has requested a trial by jury, and a case management date has been set for February 15 of this year.
