The household of a lady who died whereas in custody on the Las Colinas jail in Santee filed a wrongful dying lawsuit this week that alleges jail deputies ignored the lady’s repeated pleas for medical help within the hours main as much as her dying.
Callen Lines, 31, died on May 12 on account of fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity, however in accordance with the lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Diego federal court docket, jail employees have been conscious of her substance abuse historical past, but didn’t correctly deal with her withdrawal signs.
The grievance additional alleges that simply earlier than her dying, Lines was in medical misery and “screamed and begged for help, stating several times that she could not breathe and needed urgent medical attention.”
The lawsuit alleges she used the jail’s intercom system 4 instances to inform employees that she was experiencing seizures and vomiting, however deputies “called her a `liar’ and terminated the calls.” During her final intercom name, she stated she was going to cross out, to which deputies allegedly responded, “Sit down.”
Another deputy got here by to carry out a security cell examine and allegedly ignored Lines when she requested him to cease and communicate along with her.
She was discovered lifeless just a few hours later.
The lawsuit alleges San Diego County’s “constitutionally deficient” practices for managing detainees with substance abuse points was a think about Lines’ dying, in addition to quite a few others.
The grievance cites the 2019 in-custody dying of Elisa Serna, which led to felony costs in opposition to a jail physician and nurse, the revocation of two jail medical doctors’ licenses, and a then-record $15 million settlement with Serna’s household. Serna additionally suffered from withdrawal signs that manifested in a number of seizures and bouts of falling down in her cell previous to her dying, and was accused by some jail employees members of faking her signs.
The lawsuit additionally references the 2022 dying of Vianna Granillo, who was affected by withdrawal signs however was ignored by jail employees within the days simply previous to her dying, in accordance with the grievance.
While Sheriff Kelly Martinez pledged to enhance jail protocols for detainees with substance abuse histories, this week’s lawsuit alleges that any such protocols “were not meaningfully implemented as Ms. Lines was never continuously monitored for substance withdrawal, nor was she administered medication as prescribed — even though almost six years had passed since Elisa Serna’s death and three years since Vianna Granillo’s death.”
This week’s lawsuit was filed on behalf of Lines’ husband, two kids, sister, and father. It names San Diego County, quite a few medical employees members and jail deputies, and corporations contracted to supply medical companies to San Diego County’s jail services as defendants.
–City News Service