Cindy Lou Hill was left to die in a jail cell while under NaphCare’s “Medical Watch” at the Spokane County Jail.
Despite its name, there was nothing medical about “Medical Watch.” Rather, “Medical Watch” consisted of untrained jail guards—not medical professionals—occasionally peeking through a small cell window for seconds to check for signs of life. When a NaphCare nurse found Ms. Hill in abdominal pain so severe she was screaming on the floor in the fetal position, the nurse followed NaphCare custom and sent Ms. Hill to this sham “Medical Watch” instead of the hospital. There, Ms. Hill remained medically unmonitored for over eight hours, as acid and bacteria leaking from a hole in her intestine painfully took her life.
Ms. Hill’s family sued the County of Spokane and NaphCare, the for-profit corporation contracted to provide medical care for detainees at the jail. The district court entered default judgment against the County for destroying security footage leading up to Ms. Hill’s death, and a jury ultimately found NaphCare liable for nearly $27 million in damages for Ms. Hill’s tragic, excruciating, and preventable death.
NaphCare appealed the verdict and damages award to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The MacArthur Justice Center represents Ms. Hill’s family on appeal, defending the jury’s verdict and award for the egregious failures that lead to Ms. Hill’s passing. We are proud to partner on the appeal with Budge & Heipt, PLLC, who represented Ms. Hill’s estate in the district court, and secured this meaningful verdict.