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Illinois county pays $950,000 settlement in jail death lawsuit
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: News Briefs
An Illinois county board agreed to pay a $950,000 settlement in a lawsuit claiming that an inmate's requests for medical attention were ignored before she died in jail in 2002.
Marie O'Donnell-Smith, 38, was an inmate at Cook County Jail and had been arrested for shoplifting, the Chicago Tribune reported in its Thursday editions.
The suit alleged that after O'Donnell-Smith collapsed, a nurse at the jail's health services told her she would have to crawl to the dispensary. Then two nurses allegedly pulled and pinched O'Donnell-Smith's arms and legs while she was on the floor.
O'Donnell-Smith was found dead in her cell hours later.
According to court documents, O'Donnell-Smith was a heroin addict suffering withdrawal symptoms.
A doctor hired by the plaintiffs said O'Donnell-Smith would have lived if she received appropriate care.
A message left for Cook County Board President Todd Stroger was not immediately returned Thursday morning.
Court records showed that the county settled the suit Wednesday without admitting liability. The Cook County Sheriff's office has already agreed to pay $50,000 making the total payment on behalf of O'Donnell-Smith $1 million.
Kevin Golden, an attorney who represented O'Donnell-Smith's family, said one nurse was fired and another was disciplined after O'Donnell-Smith's death.
Marie O'Donnell-Smith, 38, was an inmate at Cook County Jail and had been arrested for shoplifting, the Chicago Tribune reported in its Thursday editions.
The suit alleged that after O'Donnell-Smith collapsed, a nurse at the jail's health services told her she would have to crawl to the dispensary. Then two nurses allegedly pulled and pinched O'Donnell-Smith's arms and legs while she was on the floor.
O'Donnell-Smith was found dead in her cell hours later.
According to court documents, O'Donnell-Smith was a heroin addict suffering withdrawal symptoms.
A doctor hired by the plaintiffs said O'Donnell-Smith would have lived if she received appropriate care.
A message left for Cook County Board President Todd Stroger was not immediately returned Thursday morning.
Court records showed that the county settled the suit Wednesday without admitting liability. The Cook County Sheriff's office has already agreed to pay $50,000 making the total payment on behalf of O'Donnell-Smith $1 million.
Kevin Golden, an attorney who represented O'Donnell-Smith's family, said one nurse was fired and another was disciplined after O'Donnell-Smith's death.
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