DENVER—A Denver hospital has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of a woman who died in jail after being released from the hospital with internal injuries that went undetected.
Denver Health Medical Center did not release financial terms, but attorney Darold Killmer, representing the family of Emily Rice, said the hospital would pay “several million dollars” to Rice’s family. He said more details would be released Friday.
“Denver Health and the Rice family agreed that it was in the best interests of both parties to reach a conclusion in order to avoid protracted court proceedings that could have lasted for years,” the hospital said in a statement Thursday.
Rice, 24, was jailed Feb. 18, 2006, on outstanding traffic warrants after crashing her car. She was suspected of being intoxicated.
An evaluation at Denver Health after the accident found Rice had a shoulder contusion, and she was given Ibuprofen before being released to sheriff’s custody, according to the lawsuit filed by her family.
Rice continued complaining of pain but was told by a nurse to “sleep it off,” the lawsuit said. Later, other inmates began screaming for the guards’ attention, but Rice wasn’t evaluated, the lawsuit said.
She died the next day from injuries from the crash, including a lacerated liver and spleen, her family said.
No criminal charges were filed in Rice’s death. The sheriff’s deputy who booked Rice has resigned.
Denver Health said it has added procedures before a patient is discharged from the emergency department, and there is more communication between emergency department and jail staff.
As part of the settlement, Denver Health agreed to develop more training, establish a protocol to identify patients heading to jail who may need monitoring, and require nurses to check for vital signs every four hours for 24 hours after a patient is discharged to the jail.
The family’s claims against the city of Denver and 17 Denver Sheriff’s Department employees are still pending. The family alleges department staff repeatedly ignored pleas from Rice and other inmates for medical assistance.
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Information from: KMGH-TV,
