Skip to main content

Inmates Sue Lake County Sheriff’s Office


30+ Years | 10,000+ Cases | $300 Million+ Recovered

Appearing On:

Inmates Sue Lake County Sheriff’s OfficeInmates filed a lawsuit against the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Monday, claiming they dealt with unsanitary conditions after a water shutdown at Lake County Jail. The lawsuit requests monetary compensation for each inmate to prevent something like this from happening at Lake County Jail in the future.

According to the lawsuit, inmates housed in the Lake County Jail around Nov. 7 to Nov. 10 weren’t informed that the water would be shut off while a new booster pump was being installed at the building. Inmates were forced to live in inhumane conditions because of it. They had just five bottles of water a day for drinking, bathing, cooking and flushing toilets.

Urine and feces sat in the cells overnight, making the inmates “sick, sleep-deprived and agitated.” They suffered from conditions like migraine headaches, dehydration, dizziness, constipation and depression.

The inmates’ attorney, Kevin O’Connor, said, “You can’t deny people their basic need of food, water and sanitation. That’s the three basic elements everyone’s entitled to.”

After a Lake County board meeting on Nov. 14, where a Black Lives Matter representative presented complaints from relatives of the inmates, Lake County Undersheriff Dave Hare said he didn’t receive any formal complaints about the issue. He stated further that inmates were given two bottles of water for every eight-hour shift during the outage and had access to more water bottles in the coolers.

Lake County Administrator Barry Burton, who also attended the Nov. 14 board meeting, said that the water outage was necessary, but that they could have done a better job informing inmates and their families about the issue.

“We’re going to re-look at our information plan so when something like this significantly happens, (we) can provide more outreach where people have correct information,” Burton told the board.

This isn’t the first time a jail has been accused of having unsanitary conditions. In November, a local legal nonprofit sued the city of St. Louis, claiming the conditions at the Medium Security Institution were unsafe. ArchCity Defenders accused the city for failing to address unsanitary conditions that resulted in health problems in inmates.

The lawsuit says, “these conditions not only violate the United States Constitution, but also run afoul of the most basic standards of human decency.”

The city’s corrections commissioner Dale Glass defended the jail’s conditions, stating that the building is clean.

“There’s no infestations, no mold, and the inmates are treated with respect,” Glass said. “People get to say whatever they want to say, but if you go look at the health department inspections, the fact that we’re nationally accredited, all the programs that we run to help inmates, I would think that would outweigh comments that anyone would say.”

The lawsuit asks the city to pay a $10,000 fine for every day it doesn’t install air conditioning or repair mold problems.

To read more about lawsuits in the news, including the Gallatin County opioid drug lawsuit, look to Cohen & Cohen for the latest updates.

Personal Injury Attorneys In:

Washington DC | Maryland | Virginia


Why Accident Survivors Trust Cohen & Cohen

Hear From Our Clients

“Cohen & Cohen did a great job at recovering a good amount of money for me after my accident. Siri was super informative & responsive. Overall I had a great experience using this firm & they will be my first call if I am ever in an accident again.”

– Charles M.

John Guy - Personal Injury Client Personal Injury Accident

“I had a very positive experience with Cohen & Cohen and I highly recommend them to anyone who needs their services.”

– John G.

Tractor Trailer vs Car

“I would highly recommend Cohen & Cohen. They were awesome on my case. Cohen & Cohen had my best interest at heart at all times.”

– Morgan L.

maria m personal injury accident Maryland Personal Injury Accident

“My experience at Cohen & Cohen has been great from the beginning until the very end when my case was closed…I would definitely recommend them to family, friends or anyone that has a case with a personal injury accident.”

– Maria M.

Reviews

From Our Valued Clients

Cohen & Cohen has an impeccable client satisfaction rating with hundreds of 5-star reviews. We are among the best-rated firms in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.

Best Personal Injury Lawyer in DC

Cohen & Cohen Has Been Featured On

Cohen & Cohen

Free Case Evaluation

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.