The Madison County Board approved a $3 million agreement on behalf of the county to settle a wrongful death suit filed in federal court over the 2020 death of inmate Elissa Lindhorst, who died after suffering from opioid withdrawal.
The settlement was reached after a series of special board meetings and was officially approved on March 29.
Board member Doc Holliday (D-Alton) made a motion to approve “a settlement of the resolution describing a settlement of the litigation entitled Schmidt v Madison County pending in the Southern District of Illinois for $3 million in training of jail officers regarding opiate and drug withdrawal with $1,400,000 contribution from the county’s excess insurance carrier.”
District Judge Stephen McGlynn previously granted a motion to stay proceedings on Jan. 4 as the parties engaged in settlement talks. A settlement was reported to the court on March 31 following a mediation session that began March 6. No other details were provided.
On April 3, McGlynn granted the parties 60 days to finalize the settlement documents. The case is to be dismissed with prejudice on June 2.
The lawsuit was originally filed on Feb. 11, 2021, by Lindhorst’s mother Rana Schmidt. A third amended complaint was filed on July 11, 2022, against Madison County, former Sheriff John Lakin, several officers and jail staff.
According to the complaint, Lindhorst, 28, died in a cell at the Madison County jail on Feb. 24, 2020. She was a pre-trial detainee from Feb. 20-Feb. 24, 2020, after she was arrested on a warrant for possession of a controlled substance. The suit states that employees of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department observed Lindhorst’s health decline but failed to take any steps to provide medical attention.
“Prior to her death, fellow detainees in the Madison County Jail heard Elissa beg for help and state that she felt like she was dying,” the suit states. “These fellow detainees did all they could to help Elissa. They received no assistance from the defendants, except for a mop and bucket to clean up Elissa’s vomit.”
The complaint alleges Lindhorst required medical care due to opioid dependency and withdrawal. She allegedly began vomiting shortly after booking and informed jail staff that she was withdrawing from an opioid. A “sick call slip” was allegedly submitted, but Lindhorst did not receive medical care. While incarcerated, Lindhorst allegedly could not eat or drink anything and continued to vomit.
Other detainees allegedly completed a sick call slip on Lindhorst’s behalf, but they claim it was discarded into a trash can by jail staff. On the morning of Feb. 24, 2020, an officer found the handwritten note “in a trash container at the front of F4 which is utilized by guards,” the suit states.
Around 5 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2020, officers allegedly informed medical staff that Lindhorst was still sick from withdrawal symptoms. They were told to fill out a sick call slip. Lindhorst was allegedly observed lying by the toilet, covered in vomit, during morning rounds. Other detainees notified jail staff that she had stopped breathing around 7:30 a.m.
“Notably, in the hours leading up to Elissa’s death, surveillance video shows fellow detainees pulling Elissa out of her cell and attempting to provide medical care as they yell repeatedly for help,” the suit states.
Nurse Alisia Rushing administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but Lindhorst was pronounced dead at 8:30 a.m.
“Unfortunately for Elissa, due to the deliberate indifference of the defendant correctional officers and defendant Rushing, during the time between Elissa’s admission to the Madison County jail and the morning of February 24, 2020, Elissa’s condition had progressed to the point of severe dehydration, and she had aspirated her vomit, causing her lungs to become congested and inflamed.”
Schmidt claims Lakin failed to implement “meaningful training or provide continuing education to their employees that focused on the signs, symptoms, and consequences of drug intoxication and/or withdrawal of detainees being held in the jail and the need to render prompt and adequate medical care.”
Schmidt is represented by attorneys with Meyer and Kiss LLC in Chicago.