LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A wrongful death lawsuit seeks to punish Orange County.
The Estate of Margarita Luna and others filed a complaint Nov. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Orange County Sheriff's Department and others, alleging wrongful death, medical malpractice, violation of Fourteenth Amendment rights and other claims.
According to the plaintiffs' complaint, their mother, Margarita Luna, was booked into the Orange County Intake and Release Center on Sept. 11, 2022, and sentenced to serve 90 days.
They claim that prior to their mother arriving at the Intake Release Center, she was experiencing obvious symptoms of a serious medical condition and that the defendants failed to provide adequate medical care. Specifically, the plaintiffs claim their mother was found in her cell with shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting before she died on Sept. 29, 2022.
The plaintiffs allege that the defendants' medical and mental health staff's failure to conduct proper and timely welfare and safety checks led to their mother's death at the age of 44.
The plaintiffs seek monetary relief, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. They are represented by Christian Contreras of The Law Offices of Christian Contreras in Montebello.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 8:23-CV-02180-DOC-KES