(The Center Square) – The estate of Spencer Wirth filed a federal lawsuit against Spokane County and others on Monday following his 2023 death under the care of the local jail’s outgoing medical provider.
Wirth’s mother, Jennifer Otieno Owino, and his minor child filed a 37-page lawsuit in court on Monday after a federal judge awarded another estate $27 million in 2022 for a different inmate’s death. That person also died under NaphCare’s watch years earlier on the same medical floor in the jail as Wirth.
The Board of County Commissioners selected a new provider in October after Naphcare signaled plans to terminate its contract in Spokane and other counties due to costly litigation. Still, Wirth’s complaint lists the county, Naphcare, MultiCare Deaconess Hospital and two corrections deputies as defendants.
“While taking a shower, Mr. Wirth collapsed in her shower,” according to the lawsuit. “Despite knowing her son likely had a warrant for his arrest, Ms. Otieno Owino called 911 and asked for an ambulance.”
According to court records, Wirth’s criminal history includes arrests for possession of a stolen vehicle and a controlled substance, burglary, malicious mischief, theft and vehicle prowling. A car struck the 26-year-old four days before Wirth collapsed in the shower, setting the stage for his death on Dec. 4.
Wirth told police he was falling whenever he took more than a few steps, but the officers took him to the downtown jail instead of the emergency room. However, a nurse sent Wirth to Deaconess Hospital after assessing his condition, though the hospital listed Wirth’s chief complaint as “medical clearance.”
The family alleges in the lawsuit that Multicare assumed Wirth was an overdosing addict on his way to jail. His heart rate was around 130 beats per minute despite lying in a bed, with several tests showing signs of pulmonary embolism, but MultiCare allegedly never considered that and discharged Wirth to jail.
“By failing to even consider a pulmonary embolism, MultiCare violated the standard of care,” according to the lawsuit. “Instead, MultiCare assumed Mr. Wirth was just one more drug addict from the jail.”
Wirth arrived at the jail’s medical floor, 2-West, on Dec. 3. The two-level unit includes 58 cells, without beds, and cameras that monitor the area. His heart rate was still dangerously high, but Naphcare didn’t send Wirth back to the hospital or call heart failure services as directed by his discharge paperwork.
The inmate collapsed in his cell at about 5:20 p.m. on Dec. 4 before Deputy Matthew Farmer allegedly did a round of medical checks in all of the cells within a single minute at 5:33 p.m., according to the lawsuit.
The family says Farmer didn’t open Wirth’s doors, talk to him or confirm that he was alive. After the sweep, Wirth woke up and yelled out for help. Another inmate wrote a letter to the jail, infuriated by the deputies who allegedly “looked up” when Wirth yelled out more than once, but did nothing else.
Notably, each cell has an emergency button that activates an alarm and a light. Wirth hit his at 5:45 p.m., but it was allegedly muted as Farmer and Deputy Mark Sprecher watched television on a phone.
After about five minutes, Sprecher went to throw away some garbage and checked Wirth, who was unconscious and “covered in feces.” His heart rate had fallen to around 27 bpm, so paramedics took him back to the hospital, arriving at 6:49 p.m., where Wirth ultimately died about 10 minutes later.
Jail personnel later responded to the other inmate’s letter, noting that a probe found no wrongdoing.
“NaphCare has financial incentives to deny medical care to inmates,” the lawsuit claims. “Given those incentives, it is unsurprising Defendants have become notorious for their unconstitutional practices.”
The lawsuit specifically cites the 2018 death of Cindy Lou Hill, another inmate who Naphcare locked in 2-West after she repeatedly screamed out in pain, before ultimately dying there only eight hours later.
A federal court found that the county acted with the intent to deprive Hill’s family of key evidence and ordered it and Naphcare to pay a $27 million settlement after allegedly erasing surveillance video, according to reporting by The Spokesman-Review.
Wirth’s family cited that and other deaths in the jail associated with alleged improper care. The lawsuit filed Monday includes claims regarding supervision, medical and corporate negligence, wrongful death and more. If found liable, the defendant would pay damages to be determined through a future trial.
NaphCare did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment before publishing on Tuesday.
Spokane County Spokesman Pat Bell declined to comment for The Center Square, citing the litigation.
“Had they conducted meaningful checks, responded to his cries, and promptly investigated his alarm and condition,” according to the lawsuit, “Mr. Wirth would have been evaluated and treated before his pulmonary emboli progressed to fatal circulatory and respiratory failure.”
