Cook County on Wednesday agreed to pay $950,000 to settle a lawsuit involving a female inmate who died in jail. In 2002, Marie O’Donnell-Smith was arrested for shoplifting and placed in a cell. O’Donnell-Smith was also a recovering heroin addict and she collapsed to the floor allegedly complaining of health trouble. She was reportedly given a drug “cocktail” and returned to her cell. She was found dead the next morning.
A doctor hired by the plaintiffs testified that O’Donnell-Smith would not have died if she had received proper medical treatment. He stated that the heroin withdrawl likely caused an irregular heart arrhythmia, which caused her heart to stop.
The Cook County Sheriff’s office had previously agreed to pay $50,000 the plaintiff’s family.
