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| Inmate sues jail in death of baby |
| By Cincinnati Enquirer |
| Published: 06/13/2005 |
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When Elizabeth A. Patterson began to have abdominal pain related to her pregnancy while in the Carroll County, Ohio, Detention Center, her cries for help went ignored, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court. About three hours later, the suit continues, Patterson's unborn child was dead. She is suing the jail, Fiscal Court, Jailer Michael Humphrey and employees for wrongful death, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence, among other counts. "I don't feel we did anything wrong," Humphrey said Friday. Four months pregnant, Patterson, of Owenton, was incarcerated on May 28, 2004, after being convicted of driving under the influence. The jail in Carrollton holds 165 inmates, with about 15 to 20 percent of them women, Humphrey said. For the first two weeks of her incarceration, Patterson, now 29, was made to sleep on the floor, the complaint claims. On July 7, about 4:30 a.m., she told an unknown female officer she was in pain, and according to her complaint, the officer dismissed her condition, saying, "I've had a pregnancy and lots of cramps." Over the next half hour, Patterson's water broke, the complaint says, noting that officers took her to the front of the jail and gave her a towel. Instead of taking Patterson to the Carroll County Hospital a half-mile away, the suit says, officers drove her to the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex, 30 miles away in LaGrange. About 7 a.m., she was admitted to the emergency room. Patterson says she doesn't know what happened to her baby, "other than that it did not survive." She was "told by the attending doctor that burials were not possible," the complaint says. The complaint also claims the jailer didn't properly train and manage his staff on "humane and proper care" and treatment of inmates. Humphrey said Patterson wasn't telling the truth but would not elaborate without consulting a lawyer. Patterson is currently jailed in the Casey County Detention Center in Liberty for another DUI conviction. |
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