Policy changes at Hampden County jail precede new $600K settlement in inmate's death
SPRINGFIELD — As part of a settlement heading off a trial, the Hampden County Sheriff's Department has promised the family of a woman who died in its custody that it would make changes to how its jails provide health care.
In 2018, Madelyn Linsenmeir's death gained national attention after her family published an obituary detailing her opioid addiction. They argued in court documents that Linsenmeir told police officers she was experiencing chest pain when she was arrested in Springfield, but she did not receive health care for four days while in jail.
It was only when she was found unresponsive in a cell that she was taken to the hospital, her family said. She died on Oct. 7, 2018. She was 30.
Lawyers for Linsenmeir's family said they recently signed a settlement agreement with the Sheriff's Department that, among its provisions, calls for changes to how medical complaints are recorded during the prisoner intake process, required wellness checks and increased access to medication to treat opioid addiction.
'My sister didn't die of substance use disorder. She died of bias,' said Linsenmeir's sister, Kate O'Neill. 'It was really hard to watch her struggle for treatment for so long.'
Among the evidence to be presented at a trial that was scheduled to begin in March: Days before her death, a corrections officer carried a sickened Linsenmeir up a flight of stairs at the county's women's jail in Chicopee.
She had a heart ailment (endocarditis, or a heart infection) brought on by drug use. The civil lawsuit filed in federal court argued that both the Springfield Police Department and officials at the jail ignored her pleas, instead scolding her for being addicted to opioids.
The settlement, which came together on the eve of trial, also includes $600,000 that will be placed in a trust for Linsenmeir's son, who was about 4 years old at the time of his mother's death. The settlement with the Sheriff's Department follows a $900,000 settlement with the city of Springfield.
Sheriff's Department spokesperson Robert Rizzuto said in a statement that the office already had made the policy changes to comply with updated guidelines recently issued by the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance.
'While we cannot comment on the specifics of any individual case,' Rizzuto said, the Sheriff's Department 'remains committed to providing the highest quality health care to everyone in our custody, especially when it comes to addiction-related services.'
Rizzuto added that Sheriff Nicolas Cocchi expressed his condolences to Linsenmeir's family, and that the office was pleased that 'a lengthy and emotional trial' was avoided. Cocchi became sheriff in 2017.
Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts and Boston-based firm Goulston & Storrs represented the Linsenmeir estate in the litigation.
David Milton, an attorney with Prisoners' Legal Services, said the litigation helped shed light on the state of health care in Massachusetts' prisons and jails.
'It is long past time for jails to recognize that addiction is a disease, not a moral failing,' Milton said in a statement. 'Denying proper medical care to incarcerated people living with substance use disorder is cruel and unlawful.'
O'Neill said her sister had struggled with opioid addiction since her teens.
'I truly believe Maddy would be alive today if she was not arrested in Springfield, Massachusetts,' O'Neill said.
As they announced the settlement, Madelyn Linsenmeir's family released a statement describing how she, a Vermont resident, enjoyed spice cake with maple frosting, was a voracious viewer of the animated sitcom 'Family Guy,' and for her, a day well spent was walking in the woods with her son.
'But what's most important about Maddie is that like every woman currently incarcerated at HCSD's jail, she was someone's daughter,' the statement said. 'She was a mom, sister, aunt, niece, partner and best friend.'
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