Severely sick inmate denied health care ended up in ICU, suit says. He gets millions
.png "A Minnesota man, who was once an inmate at the Anoka County Jail, was awarded $2.75 million in a lawsuit settlement.")
A former inmate at a Minnesota jail was awarded a large settlement after he says the jail failed to provide him with proper medical care, resulting in him being hospitalized for weeks.
On Dec. 13, Deyonta Green reached a settlement with Anoka County and several individuals, according to court records.
The $2.75 million settlement was announced Feb. 4 by law firm Robins Kaplan.
McClatchy News reached out to Anoka County for comment Feb. 6 but did not immediately hear back.
On Feb. 5, 2022, Green was booked into the Anoka County Jail, where he was ordered to serve 180 days, according to a lawsuit filed in April in U.S. District Court.
During intake, Green informed jail staff he was a drug addict and had used heroin earlier that day, the lawsuit said. At this time, a correction officer noted that Green was an “urgent referral to medical.”
This meant Green should have been treated by medical personnel immediately, but instead his initial health assessment was not done until Feb. 7, the lawsuit said.
Over the next few days, Green experienced withdrawal symptoms that continuously worsened, the lawsuit said. Jail staff also withheld Green’s prescription of Suboxone, which is used to treat opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms, according to the civil complaint.
“It is deliberately indifferent to withhold from an inmate medication prescribed by a physician that the inmate has with him at a jail,” the lawsuit said.
Green experienced “withdrawal symptoms, including eating disturbances, tremors, and sleep issues,“ jail staff noted, according to the lawsuit.
His symptoms continued to worsen, according to the lawsuit.
“Green repeatedly asked for his Suboxone, and healthcare ‘providers’ at the Jail repeatedly withheld his prescribed medication from him,” the lawsuit said.
On Feb. 9, jail staff noted that Green’s cell was covered in feces and vomit and his food, blanket and clothes had to be thrown away, according to the complaint.
Green was then given “a verbal warning about keeping his cell neat and clean,” the lawsuit said.
The next day, staff noted that Green “refused” to be seen by medical staff. However, the complaint said this was due to him being “too ill to get to medical.”
The lawsuit said jail staff “chose to ignore Green’s self-reported serious medical conditions” and “ignored withdrawal protocol.”
On Feb. 12, staff reported to Green’s cell for a loud noise. They found him on the ground, covered in vomit, unable to move or respond and groaning, the lawsuit said. Staff believed the noise came from Green falling.
Green was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to the court document. Medical professionals found Green to have brain hemorrhaging and skull fractures, the lawsuit said. He had to be intubated.
Green was transferred to a level 1 trauma center and had to undergo brain surgery, according to the complaint. He remained in the intensive care unit and was discharged from the hospital on March 6, the lawsuit said.
While in the hospital, Green was “furloughed from Anoka County’s custody,” according to the lawsuit. Green’s attorneys wrote this was done so the county could avoid having to pay for Green’s medical expenses, despite his injuries being “due to the County’s own deliberate indifference.”
Anoka is about a 20-mile drive northwest of Minneapolis.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Severely sick inmate denied health care ended up in ICU, suit says. He gets millions."
