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| Prison Death Costs Washington $1 Million |
| By Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
| Published: 11/08/2002 |
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Washington will pay $1 million to the family of a 32-year-old inmate who was turned away from a prison health clinic in his dying hours, the largest judgment the state has paid stemming from allegations of shoddy prison health care. The wrongful-death lawsuit alleging medical malpractice and civil rights violations was set to go to trial this week. 'It validates the fact that a prisoner's life is worth something,' said Jack Connelly, lawyer for the family of Phillip Montgomery, a small-time burglar who died three years ago. 'Though he had had problems in his past, he was still entitled to quality medical care.' A seven-figure settlement is also psychological victory, Connelly said, 'because you don't want them cheapening the case because it's an inmate involved.' The state did not admit negligence in the settlement. 'We did not address that. . . .The reason we settled is because of the risk,' said Kathy Gastreich, administrator for risk management at the Department of Corrections. She added, 'We express our sympathy to the Montgomery family for the loss they suffered.' Some McNeil Island medical workers who cared for Montgomery during his final days have since acknowledged that he received poor medical care. Prison health workers missed signs that he was gravely ill and neglected to check the results of urgent lab tests they'd ordered, they testified and said in interviews for a Seattle Post-Intelligencer special report on prison health care that was published in August. Montgomery had been diagnosed with hepatitis C. For years, state health inspectors and independent consultants have documented systematic problems in the state's delivery of prison health care. Some of those deficiencies were also cited in the family's lawsuit, including inadequate training, insufficient staffing and poor record-keeping. Over the past five years, tax dollars have covered more than $1.26 million in other judgments and claims of poor prison health care, according to state officials. The Montgomery settlement is by far the most the state has paid in such a lawsuit. 'It indicates that the conditions that gave rise to the lawsuit were really serious,' said Doug Honig, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. |
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