Prison nurses maintain they followed protocol following 2011 incident
Plaintiff Elizabeth Keller, personal representative of the Estate of Andrea Suzanne Armstead, sought compensatory damages from defendants Kalamazoo County and individually named defendants on claims of wrongful death, medical malpractice and Section 1983 civil rights violation.
Armstead, then 21, was in the process of heroin detoxification when she entered Kalamazoo County Jail on Oct. 30, 2011, on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant. In the days that followed, Armstead and her cellmates submitted several written requests for medical treatment, as Armstead was suffering from withdrawals, but she was denied treatment.
On Nov. 2, Armstead began shaking and convulsing, eventually collapsing. When a registered nurse at the jail found Armstead on the floor, he left her there to consult jail protocol. When he returned, Armstead had no blood pressure and went into cardiac arrest.
Armstead was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital where she was placed on life support. She never regained consciousness and was taken off life support Nov. 8.
The three prison nurses named in the lawsuit maintained that they followed protocol following the incident. In addition, it was argued that there was no way the nurses could have known before Armstead collapsed that she was suffering from a serious medical condition.
The matter settled for $1.75 million.
Type of action: Wrongful death, medical malpractice, Section 1983 civil rights violation
Type of injuries: Death
Name of case: Keller, et al. v. Kalamazoo County, et al.
Court/Case no./Date: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan; 1:12-CV-00843-PLM; Nov. 15, 2013
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