Lehigh inmate death leads to settlement

Asthmatic woman’s daughters settle suit with jail and jail’s health care provider

Relatives of an inmate who died after an asthma attack in Lehigh County Jail have settled a federal lawsuit against the county and its correctional health care provider after a judge said the suit raised serious questions about the jail’s policy on asthma treatment.

The death of another inmate who suffered an asthma attack two years earlier should have put the issue of whether prisoners could have rescue inhalers “in the crosshairs” of Lehigh County Jail supervisors before Carol L. Williams died in November 2014, U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry S. Perkin said.

Instead, lawyers for Williams’ daughters alleged, prison officials and employees of PrimeCare Medical, which provides health care services at the jail, were uncertain whether inmates were permitted to have rescue inhalers in their cells, even though national standards say they should.

Williams did not have an inhaler in her cell, and her lawyers alleged a medical clinic worker told a guard they were too busy to see Williams when she reported difficulty breathing the night before she died, according to the opinion.

Lawyers for the county and PrimeCare disputed that anyone knew Williams was suffering an asthma attack and said there’s no evidence workers in the clinic said they were too busy to see her, according to court records.

Williams, 55, had been sent to jail for violating her parole for criminal trespass after she admitted stealing scrap metal from a shed.

Her daughters, Jennifer L. Fargione of Clarks Summit and Jodi L. Pavelko of Emmaus, sued Lehigh County, corrections department officials and PrimeCare Medical and several of its employees.

They alleged the prison’s denial of medical treatment and failure to implement appropriate policies violated Williams’ constitutional rights.

The suit also alleged PrimeCare and its employees were negligent and liable for infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death.

Perkin ruled last week that most of the claims raised questions of fact that needed to be decided by a jury and ordered the parties to prepare for trial March 4. According to court records, they reached a settlement on Monday, although terms of the settlement were not public.

The Morning Call filed a request for the settlement Wednesday. The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law gives public agencies five days to respond.

Attorney Joseph Welsh, who represented Williams’ daughters with attorney Philip Lauer, said a confidentiality agreement prevents him from discussing the case. Lawyers for Lehigh County and PrimeCare did not return calls.

Perkin’s opinion noted that interviews of several county and PrimeCare employees showed evidence of confusion over whether inmates who suffered asthma were allowed to have rescue inhalers, which are used for quick relief.

The suit claimed such a policy was a requirement under the National Commission on Correctional Health Care standards by which Lehigh County Jail was accredited, but PrimeCare contended the plaintiffs misinterpreted the standards, Perkin’s opinion said.

The lawsuit also contended that the failure to have a clear policy in place showed deliberate indifference to the well-being of inmates, including Williams.

Williams’ daughters argued, “The death of a male inmate allegedly due to asthma two years prior to Ms. Williams’ incarceration ‘should have placed the issue of keep-on-person rescue inhalers in the crosshairs’ of Lehigh County Prison supervisors,” according to Perkin’s opinion.

In that case, Travis Magditch, a 27-year-old Fountain Hill man, died in 2012 of an asthma attack while he was jailed on drug paraphernalia charges.

Magditch’s parents sued Lehigh County and PrimeCare in Lehigh County Court, where a jury found that PrimeCare was negligent in its treatment of Magditch’s asthma. The jury awarded no damages, however, because there was no testimony that he suffered an asthma attack before he was found dead.

Unlike Magditch’s case, a witness testified in depositions that Williams was having trouble breathing before she was found dead, according to Perkin’s opinion. Lucy Martinez, who was in a cell about 20 feet from Williams, testified she told a corrections officer about Williams’ distress.

The county and PrimeCare contend surveillance video shows that corrections officers were regularly walking past both Williams’ and Martinez’s cells, and no one was flagging them down. But Williams’ daughters said the lack of audio on the tape leaves unclear what was being said.