Lawsuit over jail death ends in settlement
August 12, 2011
Monroe County and its former jail health care provider have agreed to pay $275,000 to the family of a man who died of a heart attack in the jail in 2007.
Attorneys for the family of Orlando Samuels had argued in a lawsuit that medical officials at the jail ignored Samuels’ heart condition, causing his death in May 2007.
In court papers, attorney Mark Valerio contends that Samuels — who was jailed on a parole violation — “was a known cardiac patient and was on four medications to control his heart condition.”
Samuels “was not provided with any of his heart medications for the nine days that he was at the jail before he suffered a fatal heart attack,” Valerio writes.
Jail health care provider Correctional Medical Services Inc. had experts who argued that Samuels’ “history of cocaine and alcohol abuse” was central to the death, and not any neglect by jail officials, records show. The company admits no fault in the settlement.
Insurance for Correctional Medical Services, or CMS, will cover the settlement, papers state. Attorney fees will be deducted from the settlement, which was approved last month by a federal judge.
Article: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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