The family of a prisoner who passed away earlier this year after court documents reveal that his heart attack symptoms at Oregon State Penitentiary were left untreated received $3.5 million from the state.
The Oregon Department of Corrections set a record with the settlement pertaining to Dominic Genise’s death in detention in 2019.
The arrangement was reached over the summer, but the agency never disclosed it. The Oregonian/OregonLive found out about it when looking into payouts related to jail medical care.
The claimed circumstances of death in the Salem jail on May 27, 2019, are described in the federal lawsuit filed by the prisoner’s estate.
According to the lawsuit, Genise, 37, had a history of high blood pressure and woke up early that day complaining of arm and chest pain as well as vomiting. According to the lawsuit, Mr. Genise’s anguish prevented him and his cellmate from sleeping.
According to the lawsuit, Genise told the nurse that he felt chest pain and that his symptoms were getting worse at around 8 a.m. after reporting to work in the prison kitchen that morning but being given a pass for the infirmary.
According to the lawsuit, the nurse observed that Genise was perspiring and that his blood pressure was elevated. According to the document, the nurse conducted an ECG, a procedure that is frequently used to examine the heart. The claim is that the nurse misinterpreted the test as normal and neglected to consult the doctor.
According to the lawsuit, the nurse gave Genise antacids after informing him that he was having gas. That day, around 6:15 p.m., Genise was discovered dead in his cell.
According to the lawsuit, he passed away from a heart attack that may have been prevented if he had been admitted to the hospital following his visit to the clinic.
The Department of Corrections and Tomme Ralls, the nurse who saw Genise on the day of his death, are named as defendants in the case, which also alleges wrongful death, negligence, and civil rights violations.
Unnamed Department of Corrections employees who oversaw or instructed Ralls are also included.
The cardiac test revealed that Genise was having a heart attack, according to Josh Lamborn, one of the lawyers who represented her family.
In an interview, he stated that he ought to have been sent to a hospital right away, pointing out that the state jail is roughly two miles from the closest hospital.
Following Genise’s passing, the Department of Corrections modified its procedure, according to Lamborn, and now mandates that a physician read the results of electrocardiograms.
According to the lawsuit, no one was dismissed or reprimanded because of Genise’s passing. Department of Corrections spokesman Amber Campbell was unable to verify that assertion or address any inquiries regarding the Genise case, such as whether the agency’s procedures altered as a result of Genise’s passing.
The Oregon State Board of Nursing reports that Ralls’ nursing license is still valid and that there is no public discipline on her record. She is still working as a Department of Corrections nurse, having obtained her registered nursing license in 1993.
An email requesting comment was not answered by her.
Genise entered state prison in June 2016 and was set to be released on July 19, 2020, after being found guilty in Clackamas County of identity theft and unlawful use of a motor vehicle. He had four kids and was married.
In 2020, the state paid out what now ranks as thesecond-highest settlementin Department of Corrections history related to prison medical care.
In that case, Michael Barton, 54, contracted the flu in January 2018 at theOregon State Penitentiaryand died the next month.
He developed pneumonia, a staph infection and sepsis, according to a federal lawsuit filed by Barton s half-brother, Stephen Brown. The state paid $2.7 million to settle the case.
Colette S. Peters, the former corrections director, called Barton s death needless and preventable and said it fell far short of the agency s standards and expectations of care.
Noelle Crombie is an enterprise reporter with a focus on criminal justice. Reach her at 503-276-7184;[email protected]
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