Jail death lawsuit headed to mediation Findlay (PH) Courier

By J. STEVEN DILLON

A federal lawsuit, filed after a prisoner died at the Hancock County jail in 2006, is heading to mediation and potential resolution next month.

Among those taking part in the private mediation session on Aug. 6 will be lawyers representing Tameka Shoemaker, the daughter of Lisa Waddell, the woman who died April 26, 2006 while incarcerated at the jail; Hancock County Sheriff Mike Heldman; and Coroner Dr. LeRoy Schroeder.

The session will be held at the Toledo Bar Association offices and overseen by mediator Michael E. Hyrne. Hyrne, an attorney, has served both Hancock and Wood counties as a mediator since 2003.

During mediation, parties to a civil action work to resolve their disputes and try to arrive at a mutually acceptable settlement.

If the process is successful and a settlement is reached, the lawsuit is dismissed. If the process is unsuccessful, the case proceeds through the normal court process.

Waddell was the first inmate to die at the jail, which opened in 1989.

Shoemaker, as the representative of her mother's estate, sued Sheriff Heldman and Coroner Schroeder, who also served as the jail's medical director, for failing to provide necessary medical care for Waddell, who had been diagnosed with epilepsy and paranoid schizophrenia.

Five other defendants weren't named when the suit was filed in U.S. Northern District Court, Toledo, in March 2007, but were identified this year after jail records became available.

The added defendants are:

• Lieutenants Ryan Kidwell and James Barker. Kidwell was the jail administrator and Barker in charge of jail operations in April 2006. Barker has since left the sheriff's office and is now Findlay's safety director. Kidwell is still a lieutenant at the jail.

• Sergeants Jeff Baney and James Breyman. Both served as shift sergeants with various responsibilities including delivery of adequate medical care to inmates. Baney, the only person prosecuted as a result of Waddell's death, was fired in November 2006. Breyman is now a lieutenant.

• Chauncy Nalle, who served as medical officer at the jail. He was responsible for assisting in the coordination and delivery of heath services to inmates. Nalle resigned his post in November 2006.

Each of the defendants, including Heldman and Schroeder, has denied negligence in Waddell's death, which Coroner Schroeder ruled “natural” following an autopsy.

Schroeder concluded that Waddell died as a result of chronic seizure disorder and had “subtherapeutic” levels of seizure medication in her body.

Heldman has said Waddell had been refusing to take her medicine.

Court and jail records indicate Waddell, 43, was awaiting sentencing on an assault conviction when she became ill at the jail April 25, 2006.

She was found unresponsive in her cell and was eventually pronounced dead after being taken to Blanchard Valley Hospital early April 26.

Baney was the shift supervisor the evening of April 25 and contacted Dr. Schroeder at 8:04 p.m. about Waddell's “seizure like activity.”

Baney was told “to keep an eye” on Waddell by Schroeder, according to reports.

Various other corrections officers also were aware of Waddell's declining health and informed supervisors of their concerns prior to her death, reports said.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages from each of the defendants.

Contact staff writer J. Steven Dillon at: 419-427-8423 Send an e-mail to Steve Dillon