Family of diabetic inmate who died to get $1.5M settlement
NEW YORK - The family of a diabetic Rikers Island inmate who died after being ignored by jailers for more than 14 hours is getting a $1.5 million settlement from New York City.
The New York Daily News reports that internal investigations by the city and state blamed the death of 45-year-old Carlos Mercado on corrections officers on duty beginning Aug. 23, 2013.
Mercado's condition worsened from his arrival at 6:54 p.m. to when he died at 9:36 a.m. the following day.
Documents say surveillance video captured one of the jailers ignored Mercado's condition, stepping over him twice after he collapsed and fell out of a holding pen.
"As far as contacting medical staff, if I didn't do it, I didn't do it," the officer was reported saying.
Mercado was reportedly foaming at the mouth and gasping for air. The first medical attention he received was CPR.
He was pronounced dead at 9:36 a.m., the cause of death a lack of insulin for his diabetes.
"Nobody should have to die like that," Carlos' sister, Linda Mercado, told the Daily News in August. "All he was asking for was his medicine. That's all he needed. He would be here today."
She said the staff needed training on how to deal with diabetic patients.
The case was resolved this month.
The newspaper says Linda Mercado and her lawyers couldn't be reached for comment.