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| Relatives of dead inmate to sue state |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 10/04/2004 |
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The family of a California inmate who died after he had a tooth pulled said last Wednesday that they were suing the state over his death, as two legislators held a Capitol hearing to investigate why prison healthcare remains poor but increasingly expensive. Relatives of Anthony Shumake, 41, said they would file a wrongful-death lawsuit because a medical pathologist's report showed that he died of complications from the extraction. The report from the San Joaquin County coroner's office showed that Shumake died June 28 after his airway was constricted by an abscess in his throat. In an interview, Dr. Robert Lawrence, a pathologist, said a "rip-roaring infection" had caused extensive swelling, reducing air flow. "The airway was not sufficiently open to allow a free flow of oxygen," Lawrence said. "The lack of oxygen caused the heart to go into a fatal rhythm." Shumake's relatives said other inmates told them that they had tried to get medical help for Shumake in the days after the dental work, as his neck turned red and swollen and he complained of continuing pain. But those requests, they said, went unheeded at Solano State Prison in Vacaville until he fell into respiratory distress and an ambulance was finally called. Prison officials would not comment on the case, saying that an internal investigation was underway. |
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