Current:Home > StocksMassachusetts city agrees to $900,000 settlement for death of a 30-year-old woman in custody-LoTradeCoin
Massachusetts city agrees to $900,000 settlement for death of a 30-year-old woman in custody
View Date:2024-12-23 15:42:20
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts city will pay a $900,000 settlement to the family of a Vermont woman who died in police custody to settle a lawsuit over authorities’ failure to provide adequate medical care.
The Springfield City Council voted Monday to approve the settlement in the case of Madelyn Linsenmeir, a 30-year-old mother whose obituary drew national attention for its candid and heartbreaking discussion of opioid addiction.
Linsenmeir’s family sued the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, saying law enforcement officials ignored Linsenmeir’s pleas for help before she died of an infected heart valve.
Her obituary was shared widely for its direct mention of her struggle with drug addiction, encouraging readers to see addiction as a disease and “not a choice or a weakness.”
It urged workers in rehabilitation settings, hospitals, jails and courts to treat people battling substance use disorders with compassion and respect.
“If instead you see a junkie or thief or liar in front of you rather than a human being in need of help, consider a new profession,” relatives wrote in an obituary.
The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts contended Linsenmeir was arrested in September 2018 and charged with being a fugitive from a warrant in New Hampshire and giving a false name. Video after her arrest shows Linsenmeir telling police she was in pain, and “might need to go to the hospital.”
She was taken to the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center, where the plaintiffs contend she spent several days and didn’t receive appropriate care. On Oct. 4, medical staff saw that she was in distress, and she was taken to the hospital, according to the lawsuit. She died there days later while in the custody of the sheriff’s office.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- 'Serial swatter': 18-year-old pleads guilty to making nearly 400 bomb threats, mass shooting calls
- Movie Review: Scorsese’s epic ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is sweeping tale of greed, richly told
- The White House details its $105 billion funding request for Israel, Ukraine, the border and more
- Jim Harbaugh popped again for alleged cheating. It's time to drop the self-righteous act.
- Reds honor Pete Rose with a 14-hour visitation at Great American Ball Park
- 'I was booing myself': Diamondbacks win crucial NLCS game after controversial pitching change
- AI chatbots are supposed to improve health care. But research says some are perpetuating racism
- DeSantis allies ask Florida judge to throw out Disney’s counterclaims in lawsuit
- Sister Wives’ Meri Brown Shares Hysterical Farmers Only Dating Profile Video After Kody Split
- More than 300,000 student borrowers given wrong repayment information, Education Department says
Ranking
- Maryland man wanted after 'extensive collection' of 3D-printed ghost guns found at his home
- The Republicans who opposed Jim Jordan on the third ballot — including 3 new votes against him
- AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa
- New Jersey dad sues state, district over policy keeping schools from outing transgender students
- NCT DREAM enters the 'DREAMSCAPE': Members on new album, its concept and songwriting
- AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa
- Lisa Rinna's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Resignation Email Revealed
- Baltimore firefighter dead, several others injured battling rowhome blaze
Recommendation
-
Ex-Marine misused a combat technique in fatal chokehold of NYC subway rider, trainer testifies
-
Maryland Judge Andrew Wilkinson killed on his driveway by suspect involved in a divorce case, authorities say
-
AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean
-
Will Smith calls marriage with Jada Pinkett Smith a 'sloppy public experiment in unconditional love'
-
Song Jae-lim, Moon Embracing the Sun Actor, Dead at 39
-
37 people connected to a deadly prison-based Mississippi gang have been convicted, prosecutors say
-
Blac Chyna Shares Heartwarming Photo of Kids King Cairo and Dream Dancing
-
Hilarie Burton Defends Sophia Bush After Erin Foster Alleges She Cheated With Chad Michael Murray