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Don Gronning
Civil rights claim also possible
NEWPORT – A $3 million tort claim was filed over the death of a man who died of “complications from Type 1 diabetes mellitus,” alleging the county was negligent in caring for Jacob Mitchell, who was being held pending sentencing after pleading guilty to killing his mother.
The claim was filed by the Seattle law firm of MacDonald, Hoague & Bayless, which represents Mitchell’s father, Harry Joe Mitchell.
Mitchell died April 5, 2023. Mitchell had several medical problems. Except for when he was at Eastern Washington State Hospital for competency evaluation, he had been held at the Pend Oreille County Jail since his arrest in February 2022.
Pend Oreille County Prosecutor Dolly Hunt said the claim will be reviewed by the county’s legal and risk management departments.
“At this time, the county is unable to comment in detail on the specifics of the case due to legal and privacy considerations,” Hunt said in an email. “The claim will be addressed through the proper legal channels.”
According to attorney Lauren Freidenberg of MacDonald, Hoague & Bayless, the tort claim starts a 60-day waiting period for the county to respond. They can either deny the claim or begin negotiations to settle the claim, she said.
According to the claim, Pend Oreille County Jail and contracted medical providers were required to monitor Mitchell’s blood sugar and provide him with appropriate medical care, including insulin injections, to manage his diabetes.
“Pend Oreille County and Newport Hospital failed to create an individualized treatment plan for Mr. Mitchell that was updated based on his condition,” according to the claim for damages. “Mr. Mitchell did not have regular clinic visits for evaluation and management by a qualified healthcare professional. Instead, Mr. Mitchell only had appointments to treat acute issues concerning his diabetes, which was the result of Pend Oreille County Jail’s failure to provide him with adequate medical care. Throughout his incarceration, Mr. Mitchell’s very serious medical condition of diabetes was being managed by unlicensed, untrained correctional officers.”
According to the claim, in the days leading up to his death, jail deputies and medical staff ignored Mr. Mitchell’s requests for help.
According to another prisoner who called The Miner after Mitchell died, Mitchell had been crying out in pain for four days.
Freidenberg anticipates a federal civil rights lawsuit.
According to the claim for damages, Mitchell’s injuries were caused by the negligence of agents of Pend Oreille County in violation of Washington law. Their conduct violated Mitchell’s constitutional right to adequate medical care under the Eighth Amendment and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the claim.
Freidenberg said that Type 1 diabetes is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the claim for damages, the $3 million figure does not include potential claims for attorney’s fees or punitive damages under federal civil rights law.
“The appropriate amount of damages for intangible injuries like pre-death pain and suffering, and the loss of a child’s love, companionship and support (i.e. loss of consortium), can only be set by a jury,” the claim reads. “For purposes of settlement and setting insurance reserves, Claimant demands $3,000,000.”
According to the claim, Mitchell was found dead in his cell, in “full rigor mortis.”
In a report by Newport Police Chief Wade Nelson, Mitchell was seen alive by a corrections officer who saw the evening medication administration to Mitchell just before 10 p.m., April 4. “The decedent was alive and well at that time,” Nelson wrote.
Corrections officers noticed Mitchell was moving around a lot in his cell, but said that was normal behavior for him, Nelson wrote.
“So, when the decedent got onto his knees and laid his upper body onto the bed face down with his hands underneath him, it was observed as his normal behavior,” according to Nelson’s report. Nelson wrote that a review of the video of the decedent’s cell shows him still moving at about 10:45 p.m. “That was the last time any movement from the decedent could be observed,” Nelson wrote. When corrections officers checked on Mitchell about 3:30 a.m. April 5, he was stiff and cold, and they started CPR. When the ambulance arrived, they stopped.
Nelson wrote that because of Mitchell’s blood sugar reading low, he had been taken to the hospital for an evaluation April 2 and April 4, 2023. “Both times he was treated and released back to the facility,” Nelson wrote.
Mitchell was taking several medications. “It was reported the decedent has not been eating well and has been causing problems with not wanting to take his medications,” Nelson wrote. “He has not shown a great desire to eat or care for himself.”
No tort claim has been filed against the hospital, Freidenberg said.
Mitchell was the second inmate to die in the jail in recent years.
According to a state law passed in 2021, chief law enforcement officers are supposed to conduct an Unexpected Fatality Review and release a report to the state Department of Health within 120 days of an unexpected death.
Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. He said a report on Mitchell’s death has been completed and that he was awaiting the final draft before submitting it to the Department of Health.
Blakeslee submitted an Unexpected Fatality Review for the death of the other prisoner, Franz Kroll, who hung himself in the jail in August 2022. That report was published May 14, 2024, well over a year after Kroll’s death.
