Not to diminish this tragedy but...we deport illegal aliens? Who knew? Anyway it's hard to believe a fall from a bunk could have caused her death.
Posted on 04/14/2006 7:55:33 AM PDT by Borges
A grieving family wants to know if their loved one's death could have been prevented.
Last Monday, inmate Maria Inamagua hit her head at the Ramsey County Jail. She was an illegal immigrant awaiting deportation.
Inamagua died Thursday after her family took her off life support. Doctors don't know if the fall caused her death, but a woman locked up with Inamagua said jail workers should have done more to help.
Quinn Henson got a DUI and said she ended up in the same jail pod as Inamagua.
Henson said she could see what happened after Inamagua fell from a bunk, hit her head and complained of a headache.
"For me the deputy's job should have been opening the door, maybe looking at her, pushing her, touching her, nudging her to see if she was responsive and I didn't see her do that at all," said Henson.
Henson said the jail nurse checked Inamagua out and sent her back to her cell, but about four hours later, she looked lifeless and was rushed to the hospital.
"The deputy and her roommate had to carry her to the chair, her head was like bobbing back and forth," Henson said. "Her eyes were not open, she wasn't responding."
Inamagua's family said doctors at Regions Hospital discovered parasites were actually attacking her brain.
Jail staff didn't know that. Officials said while this is a sad case, everyone involved did their jobs.
“It appears the staff followed all of the proper protocol and got her transported when it was appropriate to the hospital,” said St. Paul-Ramsey County Department of Public Health Director Rob Fulton.
"I'm here to put the truth on the table for that lady," Henson said. "I don't believe anybody took responsibility for her. I don't believe anybody did their job correctly and maybe if she was taken to the hospital as soon as it happened, something could have been different."
“The records indicate that the deputy assigned to the pod checked on the inmate every half hour," said Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher. "In addition, her cell mate did not observe a problem until shortly before eight o'clock."
That's when Inamagua was brought to the hospital.
Officials are still investigating and Inamagua's family has hired a lawyer.
Tragic. : (
I wonder how many times she "fell". Sounds like someone may have helped her.
What the heck is that all about?
What caused the fall & subsequent death?
"Inamagua's family said doctors at Regions Hospital discovered parasites were actually attacking her brain."
Paging John Edwards.....
source?
Illegals falling off the bunks that Americans won't fall off.
could a suicide sick person come illegally across the border infected with, say, small pox? CLOSE THE BORDER!!!
If parasites were attacking her brain, why are they asking if the fall caused her death? Most likely, the parasites caused the fall because her brain was already damaged. Four hours was not going to make much difference at that point.
I know the feeling:
Not a very comfortable situation.
It is quite possibly neurocysticercosis. It is common in Latino immigrants and caused by pork tape worm.
The parasite is mentioned in this article: http://www.startribune.com/462/story/370587.html
I don't feel sorry for anyone now.
It's about a sick person who illegally enters the country to take advantage of a health care system that she has not contributed to. And, it's about her family who want to profit from her accidental death.
Parasites are attacking...
Interesting article. I had no clue such a condition existed. Absent some form of screening process, I can't imagine how any jail medical personnel could identify this condition.
And yes, they're still called cells. A pod is a housing unit comprised of multiple cells.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.