Man Injured in Fall From Hospital Roof

A man who threatened to jump from the roof of a Panorama City hospital instead slipped and fell three floors, suffering injuries that left him in stable condition Monday.

Before his fall, James Figler was brought by ambulance to Panorama Community Hospital about 6 p.m. Sunday after suffering minor injuries as the victim of a robbery, said Sgt. Wendi Massa of the Los Angeles Police Department. Massa said Figler appeared to be intoxicated.

At the hospital, however, Figler refused medical treatment, said Nursing Supervisor Mercy Viancon. He caused a disturbance and was escorted out of the hospital by a police officer, Viancon said.

“Next thing they know, he’s up on the roof” of the three-story hospital, she said.

Jeremy Greene, 21, of Thousand Oaks said Figler was running frantically along a ledge just below the roof. He threw his shoes at officers trying to talk him down, telling them to stay away, Greene said.

“He slipped several times on the ledge, which was about a foot and a half wide, and he was hanging from the roof,” Greene said.

“I guess his socks made it slippery and he finally fell,” Greene said.

Police Sgt. Frank Flores said a tree broke Figler’s fall.

Figler was recovering Monday at County-USC Medical Center, a nursing supervisor said.