Jail Cell Birth: Lawsuit Advances For Santa Rita Inmate

DUBLIN, CA — A Santa Rita Jail inmate who gave birth in her jail cell and sued the Alameda County Sheriff's Office will see her lawsuit move forward after a U.S. District Judge said last week that the jail did not give her adequate health care, Courthouse News Service reported. Plaintiff Candace Steel said in the lawsuit that officers ignored her when she said she was close to giving birth and left her in her isolation cell to deliver the baby by herself.

The baby was born with Steel's umbilical cord wrapped around her neck and could not breathe, so Steel put her finger into the baby's throat, Courthouse News reported. The baby, Hope, started to scream and breathe.

Lawyers for the sheriff's office moved to dismiss Steel's claims, but the lawsuit will move forward in part after U.S. District Judge James Donato said in a court document last week that the jail failed to provide sufficient care. The jail's contract with California Forensic Medical Group, which held CFMG liable for all hospital-related costs, created an incentive for CFMG to deny inmates hospitalization services, according to a court document posted by Courthouse News.

Read more at Courthouse News Service.