Wash. court overturns dismissal of 2 jail death lawsuits

LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) – The relatives of two of three people who died while in the custody of a jail in southern Washington will be able to continue pursuing a negligence lawsuit in federal court.

The Daily News reports a federal appeals court earlier this month overturned a lower court’s ruling that dismissed the suit filed in 2014 on behalf of Jenny Lynn Borelis, Daniel Bush and Stephanie Deal, who all died in the Cowlitz County jail within a 10-month span in 2013-14.

The appeals court upheld the dismissal of Bush’s complaint.

Duane Crandall, who is representing relatives of Deal and Borelis, says the ruling is important for the families and for the inmates “who apparently continue to be victimized by substandard health care.”

Cowlitz County prosecutors did not respond to the newspaper’s questions.

___

Information from: The Daily News, http://www.tdn.com