Utah State Prison’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settled

In America, even criminals have rights. Although they may have committed a heinous crime in the past, the American justice system ensures those individual’s rights to life and due justice. Sadly, not everyone is lucky enough to be treated fairly once they are entangled in the U.S. criminal justice system. Ramon Estrada became one of the unlucky few, when he died three weeks before he was due to be paroled. Now, the prison, which is just south of Salt Lake City, and the Estrada family’s lawyer have settled a wrongful death lawsuit, although fault has not been admitted.

Estrada, who had been in prison since 2005 because of a rape conviction, died of a heart attack caused by kidney failure, according to his family’s lawyer. The family and their lawyer accused the Salt Lake City-area prison of wrongful death because its healthcare provider failed to provide Estrada with life preserving dialysis, which he waited for for two days, before he died. 

The healthcare provider, South Valley Dialysis, which is a clinic sponsored by the University of Utah, is still being sued by the Estrada family. University of Utah Health Care spokeswomen Kathy Wilets said earlier this year that the University was deeply sorry about the mistake, and that it would take necessary steps to ensure a similar scheduling mix-up wouldn’t happen again. She also said that two employees had been disciplined, though they weren’t fired.

Although the Salt Lake City-area prison settled out of the wrongful death lawsuit, officials have yet to admit any fault, placing the blame squarely on South Valley Dialysis. Camille Anderson, spokeswoman for the Utah Attorney General’s office, said that officials in her office were happy that the case was settled, expressing sincere condolences to the family.

According to the Estrada’s lawyer, the family is "happy to have some answers.” Although prison officials haven’t admitted fault, two employees were fired in connection to Estrada’s death. Three more have been disciplined and policy changes have been made in order to avoid another deadly mistake such as this one.

Regardless of whether someone is free or in prison, he or she has basic rights, and when a prison pledges to take responsibility for the health of inmates, its employees are fully responsible when someone dies. If you believe a loved one died due to of someone else’s negligence, it is important to contact a Salt Lake City-area wrongful death lawyer immediately. 

Ian Carry is a legal writer for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Robert J Debry. Follow on Twitter.