A federal judge in San Diego has refused to dismiss legal claims against San Diego County and a correctional healthcare provider related to the 2019 death of a man in sheriff’s custody.
In a 73-page ruling, Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro rejected arguments from defense lawyers seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the mother of Michael Wilson, who died almost five years ago after being held at the Central Jail in downtown San Diego.
Montenegro said the lawsuit filed by Phyllis Jackson should proceed to trial, although she did grant two motions by lawyers for San Diego County limiting the scope of the complaint.
“Every reasonable medical staff member would understand that denying or delaying providing all prescribed cardiac medications to an inmate-patient with a history of (heart conditions) who had missed several days of those medications was a constitutional violation,” the judge wrote.
“Thus, the county’s motion for qualified immunity is denied,” she added.
When Wilson was just four to five months old, he was diagnosed with what’s called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure, and had an implanted heart pacer, the decision notes.
He was placed on a strict regimen of prescription medication to manage his condition, the judge said.
In 2019, before Wilson was booked into San Diego County jail for a two-week stint for violating probation, the court warned the jail staff that he had serious medical needs that would require special supervision, the ruling says.
But “during the first six days of his incarceration, Wilson did not receive any of his cardiac medications,” Montenegro wrote in her decision.
“He missed 36 doses of those medications,” she added. “Over the next three days, he received six doses of only some of his medications, but his prescriptions required 18 doses. On the morning of the tenth day, Wilson passed away due to sudden cardiac death.”
According to the Sheriff’s Department, Wilson died from natural causes after collapsing in his cell. Department officials said they discovered Wilson suffering from “apparent medical distress” and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Wilson, who was 32, was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died barely an hour later.
Jackson filed her lawsuit in 2020, accusing San Diego County and contract healthcare provider Coast Correctional Medical Group of wrongful death, negligence, deliberate indifference and other claims.
Wilson was among 16 people who died in sheriff’s custody in 2019. Twelve more people died in San Diego County jails in 2020, and 18 died in custody in 2021, department records show.
Last year, 20 people died in county jails, including one man who died hours after being awarded a compassionate release. So far this year, 13 people have died in San Diego County jails.
The county’s unusually high jail mortality rate was the subject of a six-month investigation by The San Diego Union-Tribune in 2019. The investigative report led to reviews by the California State Auditor and the county Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board.
The deaths also sparked two new bills aimed at protecting people in California jails that were signed into law earlier this year by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Attorney Julia Yoo, who represents Wilson’s mother, said county officials have resisted reforms that would save lives for years.
“Given the Sheriff Department’s continued resistance to any reform recommended by the state auditor, the Legislature or CLERB, courts are now the only ones holding the county accountable for its inexcusable neglect,” said Yoo, whose firm has won millions of dollars in legal judgments representing other relatives of people who died in sheriff’s custody.
“This detailed and incredibly thorough analysis by the judge is something they cannot ignore,” she added.
Neither the Sheriff’s Department nor San Diego County officials responded to requests for comment on the ruling. The Coast Correctional Medical Group founder also did not respond to requests for comment on the pending litigation.
The judge’s ruling was particularly critical of the jail medical staff.
“Repeated failure to provide all prescribed cardiac medications to an inmate-patient that medical staff knows has a history of (heart conditions) and had missed doses of those medications could very well be a matter of life and death,” she wrote.
“It should have been obvious that doing nothing to ensure Wilson received those medications could constitute deliberate indifference resulting in a constitutional violation,” she added.
In all, Montenegro rejected 12 or 14 motions filed by defense lawyers.
She granted a motion by the county challenging claims that former Sheriff Bill Gore failed to train, supervise or discipline staff, and a separate plaintiff’s motion requesting punitive damages against the county.
Absent any settlement, the case could be scheduled for trial next year.
