Attorney Mark E. Boeghold says Berkley police essentially essentially gave his client a "death sentence" by withholding medical treatment after she was put in the city's police lock up for failing a Breathalyzer in 2010. She died of alcohol withdrawal.
Now, he's suing on behalf of the family of Lisa Kindl, 47.
Mike Martindale of the News reports that Boegehold's suit, filed on Monday in Oakland County Circuit Court, says that Kindl was denied proper emergency medical care for hours even though she complained to officers.
The suit says she was locked up for failing the Breathalyzer and violating her probation after a routine probation meeting.
Martindale writes:
As she was booked into the lockup that morning, the lawsuit alleges Kindl warned Officer Dennis Geary she might go through the "DTs" — short for delirium tremens, a severe form of alcohol withdrawal that can involve sudden and severe mental and nervous system changes, even death.
"They locked her up because a test showed she had been drinking in violation of her probation," he said. "We know drunks will be locked up but we also know — or should know — drunks can't just go cold turkey and some drunks get the DTs, which can be fatal if not treated properly.
"As it turned out, they gave her a death sentence."
