The father of a woman who jumped to her death from a bridge near at the Edelman Children’s Court in Monterey Park in 2018 after losing parental custody of her young sons filed a claim against Los Angeles County, alleging officials were aware the decedent’s health was declining and didn’t get her the proper mental support.

Chien-Tung Wu, the father of the late Shin Wu, filed the negligence claim Jan. 31 on behalf of himself and his daughter’s two minor children.

The claim seeks unspecified damages.

A representative for Los Angeles County could not be immediately reached.

Shin Wu was “overcome with despair” when she leaped to her death from the bridge next to the parking structure at the courthouse on Aug. 24, 2018, according to the claim.

She was present earlier that day when she lost parental custody of her children, the claim states. The Department of Children and Family Services had taken her children away from her a month earlier, according to the claim.

County officials had been on notice since June 2018 that a social worker assessed that Shin Wu “had mental illness issues and medical issues,” the claim states. Her problems included depression and schizophrenia, the claim states.

In the first week of August 2018, social workers called law enforcement about Shin Wu’s mental state and she was detained and hospitalized for a week, the suit states.

“County employees were aware of Shin Wu’s fragile mental condition when the county decided to take custody of her two minor children … and county employees thereby exacerbated Shin Wu’s mental illness and suicidal ideation,” according to the claim.

A claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.

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