Aanother Child Dies

Washington: Teen’s Death in Tribal Jail Sparks Lawsuit, Contract Scrutiny
Loaded on Feb. 8, 2017 published in Prison Legal News February, 2017, page 39 Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Cardiovascular,

Failure to Treat, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Juveniles, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Guards/Staff. Location:
Washington.

On January 9, 2017, Seattle attorneys Edwin Budge and Erik

Heipt said they plan to file a federal lawsuit on behalf of the family of a teenager who died after warning jailers he had a heart condition and had previously required resuscitation. Although 19 year-old Andrew Westling wasn’t a tribal member, when he was
arrested on April 10, 2016, police in the city of Yelm took him to the Nisqually Corrections Center – a tribal jail in nearby
Thurston County. There, after telling a guard he felt like his heart was “thumping out of his skin,” he was found dead roughly 24 hours after being booked into the facility.

A Thurston County coroner listed the cause of Westling’s death as
cardiac dysrhythmia due to congenital coronary artery heart
anomalies,” and described the manner of death as natural.

However, according to a medical specialist retained by attorneys
representing Westling’s family, his heart condition was “familiar,
readily recognized, and easily treatable.” University of
Washington medical professor Richard Cummins added, “If it
were not for the unreasonable neglect of the staff of the Nisqually
Corrections Center, Andrew Westling would be alive today and
would very likely enjoy a normal life span.”

The ...

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