Sandra Quinones was pregnant and in Orange County jail for a probation violation when her water broke.
On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pay Quinones, now 34, $480,000 to settle a federal lawsuit over delayed medical treatment during the March 2016 emergency. Deputies decided against calling an ambulance, then “acted with further deliberate indifference” to her medical needs when they stopped for Starbucks instead of taking Quinones directly to the hospital, her lawsuit said.
Her suit was dismissed in federal court in October 2020 but reinstated by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals the following year.Incarcerated people in Orange County jails are being served nutritionally inadequate, cold and sometimes rotting foods, according to a report from a coalition of advocacy groups.
County officials confirmed the settlement amount and provided court documents, but declined to comment on the case. Sgt. Scott Steinle, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson, said the law enforcement agency had no comment.