Report critical of jail actions in inmate death

~ "Substandard" emergency care may have contributed to the death of an inmate who suffered an asthma attack.

ST. LOUIS -- A report from the St. Louis Fire Department said a delay in allowing paramedics into the city jail and "substandard" emergency care may have contributed to the death of an inmate who suffered an asthma attack, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday.

LaVonda Kimble, 30, died April 11. One of the paramedics who treated her wrote of commonly encountering delays and apathy on calls to the St. Louis Justice Center. Autopsy findings showed no trace of Albuterol, the drug the jail nurses said was used to ease Kimble's breathing.

The reports were obtained through a court order by John Wallach, a lawyer for Kimble's family. He shared them with the Post-Dispatch.

"People don't generally die of an asthma attack when they go to the hospital," Wallach said. "I fully believe our evidence will show if she was treated properly, she would have been fine."

Public safety director Sam Simon pledged to learn more about the incident and the medical care provided under contract for more than $5 million a year by Correctional Medical Services, a private company based in Creve Coeur.

Kimble, a single mother of a 12-year-old child, shouldn't have been in jail in the first place. The Post-Dispatch said her boyfriend posted bond about 6:30 p.m. April 10 in Bel-Nor, which had a traffic warrant against her. That was about four hours after her arrest by St. Louis police.

But a release order went to the wrong jail.

Jail records show that Kimble became ill about 10:20 p.m. and received three separate treatments of Albuterol. She collapsed at 1:25 a.m.

Firefighters arrived at 1:40 a.m. and began CPR. Paramedics arrived five minutes later but spent seven or eight minutes waiting to get in, according to a report by fire department paramedic Chastity Girolami, who wrote the delay was "detrimental to the patient's outcome."

Firefighters told Girolami they found nurses trying to perform CPR by compressing Kimble's stomach instead of her chest. Girolami also noted that when medics asked a nurse if she had used an automatic defibrillator in an effort to restore Kimble's heartbeat, "She just looked at us and asked what we were talking about."

Kimble was rushed to Saint Louis University Hospital, where she died at 2:44 a.m.

"This experience at the Justice Center was by far my worst," Girolami wrote.

Her report was one of a variety of documents Kimble's family has gathered in preparation of a wrongful-death lawsuit.

The autopsy report shows that corrections officials asked for and got a special toxicology test for Albuterol, and that none was detected. Wallach said the medical examiner plans to send samples to an outside laboratory for further testing.

"If that's the case, LaVonda's civil rights were blatantly violated and it led to her death," Wallach said.

An internal investigation concluded, "There was no evidence that the Division of Corrections violated any policies or procedures." But Simon said there will be an investigation to reconcile reports from the fire department, corrections department and medical examiner.

Ken Fields, spokesman for Correctional Medical Services, said he could not comment on a specific patient. But he said the jail's medical staff is trained to properly administer life support techniques, including CPR and use of automated external defibrillators.

"Our services and equipment are in keeping with the standards of care in the community," Fields said. "All nurses at CMS are licensed by the appropriate entity and are qualified to provide the care they are asked to provide."

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com