A Rainier School resident who had thrown up was punched in the eye and seriously injured by a staff member last year at the state-run facility in Pierce County for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, court records show.
Now, a recently filed lawsuit claims that the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, which operates Rainier School, breached its duty to protect Shawn Hassig from harm and failed to train and supervise its caregivers.
Hassig, 41, has non-verbal autism, an intellectual disability and an anxiety disorder, according to the lawsuit filed June 25 in Pierce County Superior Court. He was punched in the left eye by a facility employee on Aug. 1, 2025, suffering a broken orbital bone and other injuries that required hospital treatment, the suit said…