Metropolis legal professionals have agreed to pay almost $5.2 million to settle lawsuits introduced by the households of two males who died from methadone overdoses whereas jail employees ignored them on Rikers Island.
The settlements come amid a pointy rise in claims and a dramatic spike in taxpayer-funded payouts by the Division of Correction.
In fiscal yr 2024, town logged 7,254 claims, up from 4,580 the earlier yr and eclipsing prior highs, in line with knowledge from town comptroller’s workplace. Payouts ballooned to about $254 million, up from roughly $43 million in 2023. The explanations for the huge improve weren’t clear.
Jose Mejia Martinez, 34, was uncared for by a number of correction officers for greater than three hours as he suffered a deadly overdose in a housing unit on the George R. Vierno Heart on June 10, 2021, in line with a lawsuit filed by his property. The town agreed to pay $2.7 million to resolve the claims.
The opposite case concerned Donny Ruben Ubiera, 33, who died from the same overdose on the identical facility on Aug. 22, 2023. The town settled that lawsuit for $2.4 million final Friday.
Each males appeared to overdose on methadone that had been administered to different detainees as a part of their dependancy therapy, in line with jail sources accustomed to evaluations of the 2 deaths. Some incarcerated individuals will “cheek” doses of methadone administered by Correctional Well being Providers — hiding the remedy of their mouths — and later spit it out to promote or commerce, in line with a number of jail insiders.
Methadone is a long-acting opioid remedy used to deal with dependancy by lowering withdrawal signs and cravings — however it may be deadly if taken in massive portions.
“These settlements mirror the devastating penalties of a correctional system that repeatedly failed two weak males in its custody,” stated Julia Kuan, a lawyer at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, the agency that filed the lawsuits.
Martinez had been held after violating his parole by allegedly stealing a can of beer and had a historical past of substance use and psychological well being issues, in line with the lawsuit. He obtained methadone from one other detainee and ingested it in a housing unit dayroom, a typical space that ought to have been beneath supervision.
Quickly, Martinez started staggering via the unit, struggling to stay upright and leaning in opposition to a stairwell railing whereas showing severely intoxicated for greater than 40 minutes, the lawsuit alleged. At one level, a correction officer walked previous him with out intervening as he slumped over the railing.
Different detainees helped Martinez again to his cell. Over the subsequent a number of hours, officers seemed into his cell a number of instances as he lay incapacitated however didn’t name for medical help.
A medical emergency was declared solely after one other detainee discovered Martinez unresponsive and alerted employees, in line with the lawsuit by Martinez’ household. By the point medics arrived, he was already useless — and displaying indicators of rigor mortis.
In a 29-page report issued in January 2025, the state Legal professional Normal’s Workplace discovered {that a} correction officer had failed to meet his obligation to acquire medical care, regardless of guidelines and coaching requiring him to take action.
Ubiera, who had been identified with schizophrenia, had beforehand obtained therapy at a state psychiatric middle as a result of he was deemed mentally unfit to face trial earlier than being returned to Rikers Island, jail information present.
In accordance to the criticism, his psychological well being deteriorated in a psychological statement unit, the place he repeatedly tried to hurt himself in entrance of employees and advised officers he wished to die.
The lawsuit alleges that on the night time earlier than his dying, Ubiera ingested methadone in view of correction officers and later banged on his cell door and known as for assist for hours and not using a response.
Surveillance footage cited within the criticism exhibits officers had missed routine rounds. Ubiera was discovered unresponsive the subsequent morning and, whereas officers started CPR, Narcan was not instantly accessible within the housing space.
By the point it was retrieved from one other unit, a number of minutes had handed. Ubiera was pronounced useless later that day.
A spokesperson for town’s Regulation Division declined to remark.
