Estate of Hampton v. Androscoggin County.

U.S. District Court

CELL CHECKS

Estate of Hampton v. Androscoggin County, 245 F.Supp.2d 150 (D.Me. 2002). The estate of a county jail inmate filed a state court action against a county and county officials. The case was removed to federal court, where the defendants moved for summary judgment. The federal district court granted summary judgment for the defendants, finding that the county was not liable under [section] 1983 and that the sheriff was immune from liability under a state court claims act. According to the court, even if the inmate's death was attributable to a jail officer's refusal to summon emergency medical personnel upon the inmate's request, and there was evidence of another incident in which officers denied another inmate his medication, there was no evidence that either incident involved so many jail staff as to reflect a widespread practice. The inmate had been brought to the jail in the afternoon, and he told an admitting officer that he did not suffer from any disability, did not require any form of assistance, and was not taking any medication at the time. He was assigned to a maximum security cell block where he was checked by staff every fifteen minutes. The following day he did not indicate to jail staff that he was in need of medical attention when they checked on him every fifteen minutes. During a cell check an officer found him lying on his back and he was unresponsive. A physician's assistant who was working in the jail at the time responded to a "code blue" and found jail staff administering mouth-to-mouth ventilation to the inmate. Paramedics arrived at the jail and continued efforts at resuscitation and he was transferred to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead approximately an hour after he had initially been found unconscious in his cell. (Androscoggin County Jail, Maine)