Michigan: $8 Million Settlement after Prisoner’s Baby Born with Brain Damage
Michigan: $8 Million Settlement after Prisoner’s Baby Born with Brain Damage
by Shepherd Litsey
In the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, plaintiff Chelsie Barker (identified as C.B. in the pleadings), a minor, through her conservator, Howard T. Linden, settled a civil rights lawsuit against Wayne County for $8 million on November 9, 2012.
Chelsie’s mother, Chantrienes Barker, was a pretrial detainee at the Wayne County Jail in December 1998 when she went into labor. She was taken to Hutzel Hospital but released several hours later and returned to the jail.
Chantrienes was in labor with contractions and 2cm dilation when she was placed back in her cell. No deputy or nurse was monitoring her when her water broke and the contractions increased. All the prisoners on her unit were “screaming and banging on toilets and cell bars” for help, trying to get the attention of the jail staff; however, it took two hours before a nurse came by. Chantrienes’ baby was crowning by then, and remained crowned until EMS personnel arrived and delivered Chelsie. As a result of the delay in providing medical care while Chantrienes was in labor, Chelsie was deprived of oxygen and not breathing when she was born, and suffered severe brain damage and cerebral palsy.
Following the $8 million settlement, the district court entered an amended order regarding distribution of the settlement funds in October 2013, and a second amended order on distribution of the funds on October 17, 2014. The latter order specified the portion of the final installment of the settlement to be paid to the plaintiff’s attorney, the law firm of Fieger, Fieger, Kenney, Giroux & Harrington, and the amount to be paid to a structured settlement company on behalf of Chelsie. See: Howard T. Linden, Esq., as Conservator of C.B., a Minor v. Wayne County, U.S.D.C. (E.D. Mich.), Case No. 2:06-cv-10449-SJM-MKM.
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Related legal case
Howard T. Linden, Esq., as Conservator of C.B., a Minor v. Wayne County
| Year | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Cite | U.S.D.C. (E.D. Mich.), Case No. 2:06-cv-10449-SJM-MKM |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 8,000,000.00 |