Jury rules ‘deliberate indifference’ in Racine inmate death

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Summary of the case:

Kendal Leonard, 57, was admitted at the Racine County Jail on Aug. 18, 2007, to serve a 20-day sentence. Upon admission, Leonard informed a guard he had a “bad heart,” as he had stents placed in his heart four months earlier and was taking aspirin, nitroglycerin, lisinopril and other medications.

Medical staff at the jail ordered daily lisinopril and alcohol withdrawal medication, but aspirin was not ordered.

On the 10th day in jail, recordings of telephone conversations between Leonard and his wife documented that he reported having chest pains to a guard and filled out a request for medication. Three days later, another recorded telephone call revealed that Leonard had not received any response to his requests for medical attention.

Leonard died of a heart attack en route to the emergency room the morning of Sept. 1, 2007, after experiencing at least 35 minutes of severe pain and suffering.

The plaintiff, his estate, brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The plaintiff alleged Leonard’s death would have been prevented had he been given daily aspirin or had his complaints of chest pain not been ignored.

The plaintiff alleged the Racine County Jail failed to have policies in place to ensure that inmates with medical needs were seen by appropriate medical providers in a timely fashion upon admission. The plaintiff also alleged Racine County Jail was medically understaffed and unable to perform routine health assessments as required by national correctional health care standards.

Racine County contended its jail was not medically understaffed, and to any extent that it was, the sheriff and jail administrators were unaware of any medical problems caused by the understaffing.

After a four-day trial, a jury found Racine County had an official policy or practice that resulted in deliberate indifference to inmates at Racine County Jail, causing harm to Leonard. The jury also found that the guard on duty when Leonard reported having chest pains was deliberately indifferent to Leonard’s serious medical needs.

The jury awarded $630,000 for pain and suffering, hedonic damages, and funeral expenses. Punitive damages in the amounts of $310,000 and $60,000 were assessed to the sheriff and the deputy sheriff, respectively.

Attorneys’ fees of $354,000 and other costs of $22,000 were awarded in post-verdict motions.