Feb. 11--The son of an 89-year-old woman who died on UPMC Montefiore's roof in freezing temperatures charged in court papers Tuesday that a new and untested electronic medical records system was a major factor in her death.

The complaint filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court claims the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center implemented the records system at Montefiore a little more than a month before Rose Lee Diggs' death, despite warnings from staffers that it was deficient.

Diggs, a survivor of multiple strokes and under treatment for dementia, was under the care of medical staff struggling with a system that "they were not properly trained on," placing patients "at a severely increased risk of harm and death," the lawsuit states.

UPMC spokesman Frank Raczkiewicz said he could not comment because hospital attorneys had not seen the complaint. He noted the hospital implemented an alert system following Diggs' death "to quickly find patients who wander from their units."

Family attorney Rob Peirce charges in the lawsuit that UPMC ignored warnings that the records system could put patients at risk because the health conglomerate has an ownership interest in the company, Cerner Corp., that developed the records system.

Security and Exchange Commission records show UPMC received 74,787 shares of Cerner stock in 2005. UPMC and Cerner have been involved in joint efforts to sell the recordkeeping system to health care facilities in the United Kingdom.

Cerner, which is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond to a request for comment.

Diggs wandered from her 12th floor hospital room about 5 p.m. Dec. 2, passing through three doors that should have been locked or outfitted with an alarm, up a flight of stairs and through a boiler room to the hospital roof. According to the lawsuit she was found dead, wearing only a hospital nightgown and slippers.

The lawsuit charges that UPMC officials, following the discovery of Diggs' body about 8 a.m. the next day, attempted a cover-up by removing faulty locks in the midst of a criminal investigation. That investigation by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and Pittsburgh police continues.

"UPMC's main objective was to destroy or tamper with important evidence in order to exculpate itself as opposed to the safety of Mrs. Diggs," the family claims in the lawsuit, which charges that UPMC waited an hour before notifying police after staffers found Diggs.

The lawsuit charges UPMC violated state regulations by admitting too many patients and placing patients in areas not allowed under state and federal regulations. It cites violations noted over the past several years by state health inspectors. On three occasions in 2005, UPMC was cited for exceeding bed limits, the lawsuit states.

In a state report recently made public, UPMC was cited for the malfunctioning door locks and failing to develop a care plan to specifically deal with Diggs' documented history of wandering.

The lawsuit claims a freeze on overtime, and the virtual elimination of a program to provide round-the-clock monitoring of patients with ailments such as dementia, occurred at the same time the recordkeeping system was implemented Oct. 24. It says inadequate security and maintenance resulted in 20 to 30 instances of patients wandering from UPMC facilities in the past two years.

The lawsuit states a survey conducted last spring specifically cited the broken lock mechanism on one of the doors Diggs passed through.

It mentions signs posted in the hospital about the facility's disaster plan. The emergency contact number on the signs connects callers to a Pizza Hut ordering line, the lawsuit states.

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