A federal judge overseeing the legal battle over the 2018 death of a Vermont woman while she was in law enforcement custody in Western Massachusetts allowed a claim against the Hampden Sheriff’s Office for violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but dismissed claims brought against two of its employees, a correction officer and nurse, in an order issued Thursday.
Madelyn E. Linsenmeir, 30, who had a 3-year-old son, died on Oct. 7, 2018, from complications of a heart valve infection tied to her opioid use. Her family honored her with an obituary that drew national attention and encouraged the public to treat addiction as a disease rather than “a choice or a weakness.”
Linsenmeir was arrested in Springfield as she attempted to purchase heroin. She was charged with being a fugitive from a warrant in New Hampshire and giving a false name. Video after her arrest shows Linsenmeir telling police she was in pain and “might need to go to the hospital.”
The case is scheduled to go to trial beginning May 20 at the federal courthouse in Springfield.
Linsenmeir’s family sued the city of Springfield, three police employees, and two Hampden County Sheriff’s Department workers for wrongful death, saying law enforcement officials ignored Linsenmeir’s pleas for medical help after she was arrested on Sept. 29, 2018.
The estate also is suing the sheriff’s office for an alleged violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which applies to people with drug addiction like Linsenmeir.
Earlier this month, the Springfield City Council voted to approve a $900,000 settlement in the case.
US District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni’s order does not impact the settlement and only applies to the sheriff’s office and its workers.
“The summary judgment record and applicable standard supports a jury finding that [the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center] staff denied Linsenmeir medical care because of her opioid use disorder,” Mastroianni wrote.
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But, Mastroianni added that “claims based on the negligent or wrongful conduct of public employees who acted within the scope of their employment may only be brought against the ‘public employer’... and not against the individual employees.”
Mastroianni dismissed two claims, wrongful death and failure to provide medical care, against a correction officer at the sheriff’s office. The officer conducted Linsenmeir’s initial intake interview when she was taken to the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center on Sept. 30, 2018.
Linsenmeir told the officer she was experiencing pain in her leg and torso, which was noted but not followed up on, the judge’s order said.
The evidence “does not support” that the officer exhibited “deliberate indifference,” Mastroianni wrote.
“There is simply no evidence from which a jury could infer that she ‘had actual knowledge of impending harm,’” Mastroianni wrote.
The judge also dismissed the wrongful death claim against a nurse, but let stand a claim against her for unconstitutional failure to provide medical care.
Linsenmeir likely reported her chest pain to the nurse who exhibited “deliberate indifference to Linsenmeir’s serious medical needs” by failing to follow up with a physical examination, or take vital signs, or record the the conversation, Mastroianni wrote.
“In the court’s view, a jury could find, after weighing and interpreting all the evidence ... that [the nurse] provided medical care ‘that was so clearly inadequate as to amount to a refusal to provide essential care,’” Mastroianni wrote.
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Mastroianni also let the ADA claim against the sheriff’s office stand.
Attorneys for the sheriff’s office could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
Linsenmeir’s cellmates said authorities reacted to Linsenmeir’s pleas for help by “rolling their eyes,” telling her it was her “own fault that she was there and she shouldn’t do drugs,” along with other gestures of “disdain,” the order said.
“These statements evidence direct discriminatory animus,” Mastroianni wrote.
On Oct. 4, 2018, medical staff saw that Linsenmeir was in distress, and she was taken to the hospital, according to the lawsuit. She died there days later while in the custody of the sheriff’s office.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts.
This story has been updated.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.