A federal appeals court says a civil rights lawsuit may go forward in the case of an ex-prisoner, Kristine Kellum, who alleges authorities were deliberately indifferent to her serious medical condition and she ended up with significant heart damage as a result.
Kellum, 43, sued Adela Mares, a correctional officer employed by Bernalillo County, and Stepanie Breen, a privately employed nurse assigned to the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center, as well as the county, Correctional Healthcare Inc. and other individuals.
Breen appealed U.S. District Judge Robert Brack’s denial of a motion to dismiss and Mares appealed his denial of a motion for summary judgment. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Brack in a July 25 order.
At the time she was booked into the jail on Oct. 17, 2012, Kellum had a fever and cough, but her condition was not diagnosed or treated until she was taken by ambulance a week later to the University of New Mexico Hospital, according to her lawsuit.
There, she was diagnosed with endocarditis, an infection of the heart, and blocked lung arteries with infectious particles as well as a collapsed lung. She has undergone open heart surgeries and will need more, plus ongoing monitoring, for the rest of her life.
Brack noted that there was enough evidence for a reasonable jury to find Mares knew Kellum needed expert medical care – Kellum was sweating profusely, could barely breathe and couldn’t stand up – but Mares delayed medical care for five hours and “told her she was going to have to die,” the appellate opinion says.
Kellum’s medical expert testified that the bacteria responsible for the infection double every 20 minutes, so days of delay can have a significant impact – supporting an inference that the delayed treatment allowed the bacteria to increase by a factor of 16,386, the appeals court said.
As for Breen, the appeals court said Kellum’s lawsuit plausibly alleged delay and deprivation of medical treatment resulting in the heart damage, surgery and pain and suffering because there are facts to support a claim that she knew, but deliberated ignored, the risk to the prisoner and did not obtain any tests or refer her to the hospital for treatment.
Breen has said she was a sick call nurse whose sole purpose was being a gatekeeper, and that Kellum was later seen by a doctor and another nurse.
