Wrongful Death Claim Blames Jail Staff for Baby’s Death After Inmate Gives Birth

A judge in Alexandria, Va., is set to decide within weeks whether a female jail inmate’s lawsuit should be dismissed after she gave birth while incarcerated to a son who died shortly afterward.

Jemika Johnson, 24, said her calls for help through the Rappahannock Regional Jail’s intercom went unanswered when she went into premature labor on the morning of Aug. 3, 2021.

“At least twenty-six correctional officers were on duty” at the time, according to her lawsuit.

Employees and medical contractors at the jail in Stafford, Va., “engaged in a cycle of punishing and isolating Ms. Johnson, while allowing her mental and physical health, and that of her unborn baby, to dangerously deteriorate,” the lawsuit claiming wrongful death says.

A crucial issue U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema must decide is whether the baby was born alive.

“The autopsy revealed evidence that the infant was born alive, including a gastric air bubble, although the findings were discordant,” according to Johnson’s lawsuit.

In addition, the Virginia medical examiner concluded Johnson’s baby died of acute chorioamnionitis, “a common condition which would have been identifiable and easily treatable with antibiotics, if Ms. Johnson had received medical care,” her attorneys say.

If true, Johnson’s allegations raise the possibility of a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban against “cruel and unusual punishment.” First her attorneys must prove the jail staff's “deliberate indifference” to her “serious medical needs,” which is the standard set in the 1976 Supreme Court case of Estelle v. Gamble.

The response and motion for dismissal from the Rappahannock Regional Jail describes a much different situation in which Johnson neglected her own medical care.

At one point, she declined both medication to treat her schizophrenia and an appointment with an obstetrician-gynecologist weeks before her delivery, according to the answer filed with the court. The staff said they heard no cries for assistance from her.

The defendants also say the lawsuit is barred by a statute of limitations. The Virginia statute of limitations is two years for wrongful death claims.

Johnson gave birth on Aug. 3, 2021. Her lawsuit was first filed on Aug. 1, 2023.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.