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| Shreveport Will Settle Jail Suit for $4.9 Million |
| By Shreveport Times |
| Published: 12/09/2002 |
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The city of Shreveport, Louisiana will pay $4.9 million - believed by attorneys involved to be the largest legal settlement in the city's history - to the family of a city jail inmate who was severely beaten in March by a fellow inmate. Details of the settlement are still being put on paper, but Chief Administrative Officer Ken Antee confirmed recently it will likely be paid in a lump sum from the city's risk management reserve fund. The city is budgeting $7 million for 2003 in that fund, which is used to pay large settlements and legal claims. Last May, Steve Janski filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking unspecified damages in the beating of his father, 59-year-old Carl Janski. According to the lawsuit, Janski claimed the city was grossly negligent for not properly staffing the jail, failing to have proper security measures in place and failing to provide medical care for his father. The elder Janski, who was locked in a cell with three other inmates, suffered severe head trauma after he was beaten by another inmate who, according to jail reports, became irate over Carl Janski's body odor. The lawsuit states Carl Janski's head was bashed against a metal bed post and was 'repeatedly stomped until tissue and fluid came out of his skull.' Jail personnel failed to respond to calls for help from other inmates, the lawsuit said. Antee said the settlement was reached Friday during a mediation between the city, Janski's son and Janski's attorney, Craig Smith of Shreveport. The lawsuit did not specify damages, but sought 'whatever we can show is needed for future medical care and general damages.' Carl Janski, a former worker with the Rock Island and Union Pacific railroads, is currently housed in an assisted living center in Arkansas. Of the financial settlement, Antee said, 'it's the largest one that I'm aware of' but it was not definite Sunday that it's the largest in the city's history. In 1998, the city paid $3.4 million to settle a longstanding pay dispute with Shreveport police officers. Shreveport Mayor Keith Hightower could not be reached for comment on Sunday, but said Saturday he was unaware a settlement had been reached. 'This could have been in the double-digit millions because of future medical expenses,' Antee said. The city was deemed liable, Antee said. 'Hopefully there won't be any more of those.' |
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There is a lot of information on this website about inmates and prison guards. I didn’t realize what was going on in our prison system until I discovered this website. Similarly, I didn’t understand litigation finance until I read more from Hamilton Lindley who is a litigation finance expert based in Texas.