A grieving son is taking legal action, claiming his mother’s death in jail could have been prevented if medical staff had acted in time

The son of a woman who died in an Alabama jail alleges in a lawsuit that jailers and medical staff denied her from getting the emergency medical treatment that would have prevented her death and delayed calling for help until it was too late.

Angela Karen Langley Kimberly was incarcerated in the Birmingham city jail after her DUI crash arrest on Dec. 12, 2022. She died 10 days later, according to a lawsuit by her son and a second plaintiff who had also been incarcerated at the jail.

Johnathan Austin, an attorney in the case, said the facility is underfunded and understaffed.

“In my experience going down to the jail to see clients, you can see that it is in deplorable condition,” he told Alabama Media Group. “People who are arrested and taken to jail, whether it’s a person who is guilty and serving their sentence, or a pretrial detention, all of these people are still U.S. citizens and deserve to have the same protections as everybody else.”

The lawsuit names as defendants the city of Birmingham, the mayor, its police chief, jail officers and a doctor and nurses at the facility. Media representatives for the city of Birmingham did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.

According to the lawsuit, after her arrest, Kimberly was taken to an emergency room for evaluation. Once discharged, she and the arresting police officer were given strict instructions to return to the emergency room if symptoms developed.

A medical screening at the time of her booking, Kimberly had a cough, sore throat, and shortness of breath, the document said.

According to the medical records provided by the defendants, she was given a rapid COVID-19 test, which was positive, and immediately placed in isolation for seven days, but she was prescribed no medications for her COVID-19 infection and symptoms, the lawsuit said.

On Dec. 20, Kimberly tested negative for COVID-19 and her solitary confinement was discontinued. But on Dec. 21, her condition worsened, and on the morning of Dec. 22, she was so sick she was unable to walk without assistance, the lawsuit said. She was found unresponsive later that morning, according to the document.

The lawsuit said the defendants “were deliberately indifferent” to her serious medical needs by their delay and denial of emergency medical treatment.

Jailers and medical personnel didn’t call for emergency medical assistance for her “until several hours after her death when rigor mortis had set up in her face and extremities,” the lawsuit said.

According to the plaintiffs, Kimberley was denied crucial medical attention that could have saved her life.

“On the morning of Dec. 22, 2022, Kimberly’s medical condition was so life threatening and she was in such a serious need of emergency hospitalization that her death was imminent if she didn’t receive it,” the lawsuit said.