COMPTON (CNS) – The estate and brother of a 32-year-old woman who allegedly died at the hands of another inmate at the Los Angeles County women’s jail in Lynwood in late 2021 have tentatively settled a lawsuit they brought against the county.
Attorneys for the estate of the late Destiny Ortega and her sibling, Steven Stevens, filed court papers on Thursday with Compton Superior Court Judge Fumiko Wasserman notifying her of a “conditional” resolution of the case that is subject to final approval by the Board of Supervisors. No terms were divulged.
The suit filed in October 2022 and amended two months later alleged Ortega suffered a “violent, prolonged and painful death.” The plaintiffs sued for wrongful death/negligence, civil rights violations and failure to summon immediate medical care.
According to the LASD, a deputy found the bloodied Ortega about 3 a.m Dec. 29, 2021, on the floor of her cell at the Century Regional Detention Facility a day after Pomona police arrested her on suspicion of a parole violation.
Deputies further said they unsuccessfully tried to revive Ortega with CPR, but she died at the scene.
According to the suit, Ortega was assigned to the same cell as another inmate whom deputies knew or should have known was mentally ill and a potential danger to others and therefore should have been isolated. Instead, deputies acted “purposely or with reckless disregard” for Ortega’s safety knowing the other inmate could be a danger to her, the suit stated.
The complaint further alleged deputies knew Ortega needed immediate medical care as she was lying “lifeless and not breathing” on the floor of her jail cell and that their failure to get her help was a factor in her death.
The LASD has a history of allowing inmates suffering from mental illness or who have gang histories to mix with others in the general population, in part due to a lack of training of deputies to separate the classes of inmates, according to the suit.
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