Suit over “horrible and preventable death” in Jackson County jail ends in settlement
Jackson County will pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a 53-year-old woman who said she “died a horrible and preventable death” three years ago at the Jackson County Detention Center.
County legislators approved the settlement without comment Monday, ending the county’s participation in the 2019 lawsuit filed by four of ReGina Thurman’s adult children.
The jail’s former medical care contractor, Correct Care Solutions, is also a defendant in the case. The lead attorney for the plaintiffs declined comment. But the court docket shows he has moved to dismiss the case with prejudice, which could indicate that a settlement has been reached with all parties.
A settlement conference is set for Thursday.
The suit alleged that Thurman died on Jan. 20, 2017 due to negligence of jail staff and nurses. Instead of rushing her to a hospital when she complained of severe chest pains, the suit alleged that the jail’s medical staff dismissed her symptoms as heartburn and gave her antacid tablets.
Her jailers accused her of overreacting as she lay curled up on the floor, crying in pain. One corrections officer joked that “the lady was suffering from jail-litus (sic),” according to the lawsuit, citing a jail report. Fifteen minutes later she stopped breathing and had no pulse.
Cause of death was a torn aorta.
The county paid a $150,000 settlement last year in another lawsuit involving a jail inmate whose family alleged that he, too, died in custody due to negligence and a lack of medical care.
Correct Care Solutions agreed to an undisclosed settlement in that case. The county has changed medical providers at the jail since those incidents. Correct Care Solutions changed its name to Wellpath after a merger and is is one of the nation’s largest private healthcare providers for prisoners.
