The family of a woman who died in her jail cell on May 12, 2012, recently lost their wrongful death lawsuit they filed in federal court against Douglas County and the sheriff. During the lengthy court proceedings, jurors weighed “allegations against both the county and the sheriff that their jail staff denied or delayed medical care to Rachel Hammers and also had inadequate training.” In the end, the jury found the county and sheriff were not responsible for the death of Hammers. As a result of the verdict, “heirs of Hammers will recover nothing.”
The family of a woman who died in her jail cell on May 12, 2012, recently lost their wrongful death lawsuit they filed in federal court against Douglas County and the sheriff. During the lengthy court proceedings, jurors weighed “allegations against both the county and the sheriff that their jail staff denied or delayed medical care to Rachel Hammers and also had inadequate training.” In the end, the jury found the county and sheriff were not responsible for the death of Hammers. As a result of the verdict, “heirs of Hammers will recover nothing.”
What happened, though? It all started back on the evening of May 11, 2012, when Hammers was arrested and taken to jail on “a bench warrant for failing to appear on a parole violation charge.” It was her parents that called the police earlier that day after witnessing their daughter intoxicated while helping with her children.
Once at the jail, members of the staff and Hammers’ cellmate said, “she did not appear to be drunk or to have symptoms of alcohol withdrawal that night or the next morning, and noted that Hammers was scheduled to see a nurse the following day.” The morning after Hammers arrived at the jail, she and her cellmate had breakfast together before returning “to their cell to nap.” Later on, the cellmate “woke up and cleaned the cell and left to take a shower.” She later reported that she had “noticed Hammers snoring and sounding congested as she slept but did not think anything was wrong with her.”
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When a corrections officer arrived later to ask if Hammers wanted to take her free time, she didn’t respond. The officer entered the cell to check on her and found her unresponsive. She was later declared dead and is “the first and only inmate to die there since the jail opened in 1999.”
According to Hammers’ father, Joseph Harvey, Hammers “suffered from chronic alcoholism and had a history of seizures, high blood pressure, and alcohol withdrawal.” He noted in the lawsuit that his daughter’s death certificate said, “her sudden death was due to a seizure disorder, probably related to alcohol withdrawal, the judge wrote in a recent summary of the case.” She was only 32-years-old when she died.
When he filed the lawsuit against the Douglas County Commission, Douglas County Sheriff Ken McGovern, Undersheriff Kenneth Massey, three unnamed individuals, medical doctor Dennis Sale, and the Douglas County Visiting Nurses Association he was demanding over “$1.35 million for Hammers’ three minor children in reparation for her death.”
According to his lawsuit, “Hammers died as a result of the defendants’ ‘systemic disregard’ for her medical conditions and accepted correctional medical practices.” It added, “Hammers not only experienced extensive pain and suffering, but she died a horrible and preventable death.” the original suit said.
Throughout the proceedings, Douglas County denied the allegations, arguing that the “jail staff followed protocol and were not liable for her death.” When commenting on the matter, Michael Seck, the attorney representing the county, said, “The evidence shows that Hammers’ medical condition, even if one were to assume that she died of an alcohol seizure, would not be apparent to a lay person nor even to medical staff.” He added:
“Quite simply, no one who came in contact with Hammers during her incarceration had any inkling that there was a serious medical condition that had to be addressed. The mere fact that she died in custody does not infer negligence.”
Sources:
Relatives of woman who died in jail cell lose wrongful death suit against Douglas County
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