Woman Suing After She Was Forced To Give Birth In Jail Cell With No Medical Help
A woman is suing the city of Denver and six members of the Denver Health Medical Center after she gave birth on the bench in her jail cell at Denver County Jail.
According to the lengthy lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Diana Sanchez gave birth to a boy on July 31, 2018. The suit alleges Sanchez told deputies hours before giving birth that she was in labor.
Sheriff's Department Investigated Themselves
Pix11 says a review of the incident by Denver Sheriffs Department's Internal Affairs was ordered by Sheriff Patrick Firman. Denver Health Medical Center was also asked to investigate.
A sheriff's spokesperson say deputies took "appropriate actions" during Sanchez' ordeal.
But wait, shouldn't an outside organization have investigated? Wouldn't this be a conflict of interest?
Suit Says Sanchez Got No Medical Treatment
The lawsuit also says Sanchez received no medical treatment during the labor or birth.
She adds that Denver Health Medical Center personnel knew beforehand that Sanchez was close to her due date and that her water had broken the morning of the birth.
Sanchez' Case Resulted In Jail Policy Change
The attorney for Sanchez, Mari Newman, says the inadequate care given to Sanchez was "not civilized."
"The failure to provide care to a woman who is in labor and a baby who is born without any medical assistance in a dirty jail cell, this is not civilized," she said.
Policy at the jail has now been changed so that when a jail inmate is in labor, an ambulance must be called.
Well, duh.
