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| County to pay $2.5M for inmate's death |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/12/2003 |
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Officials in Orange County, Fla. have agreed to pay 2.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the death of a County Jail inmate. The county has reached an agreement with the family of Karen Johnson. She suffered a heart attack and lapsed into coma in June 2001, four days after being jailed for a traffic ticket. She was NOT being allowed to take daily, prescribed doses of methadone. The family has also reached undisclosed settlements with a psychiatrist and nursing agency providing inmate health care. Widespread, costly changes in jail medical practices followed Johnson's death. The first change came in August 2001, when the county ordered jailers to let private clinics provide methadone to inmates who had been prescribed the drug before their arrests. Methadone is taken to suppress craving for heroin in addicts and for pain. This year, the county opened its Central Receiving Center for people arrested with substance-abuse or mental-health problems. Also, about 30 nurses have been added to the jail's medical staff. |
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