The widow of singer Sean Levert, who died six days after entering Cuyahoga County Jail in March 2008, has settled her lawsuit against the county and the company that oversees health care in the jail for $4 million.
The settlement with the county and Midwest Medical Staffing Inc. was reached late Wednesday after a nine-hour mediation conference with U.S. District Magistrate Judge Greg White.
The settlement contains no official admission of liability, “but it’s clear everybody agrees that this was a tragedy and it needed to be resolved,” said David Malik, lead attorney for Levert’s widow, Angela Lowe.
Levert, 39, was jailed on March 24, 2008 for owing nearly $90,000 in child support to three children from previous relationships. He died after being denied his prescribed anti-anxiety medication, Xanax, the entire time he was in jail. A coroner’s report said Xanax withdrawal contributed to Levert’s death.
Lowe’s suit, which named several county staff members and Midwest Medical doctors as defendants, charged that jail policies contributed to Levert’s death and claimed negligence by doctors.
Article courtesy cleveland.com
