In 2013, Andy Henriquez died at Rikers Island’s Otis Bantum Correctional Center (“OBCC”) facility. Andy was 17 years old at the time. He was put in solitary confinement, the “box” or the “bing” as it is called, because of an infraction for fighting with other inmates. Andy told the corrections officers that he had been attacked and was defending himself, but they were not interested in hearing his side of the story. They threw him in the box. Andy was awaiting trial, having pleaded not guilty to murder. Given his lack of involvement with the actual homicide, his strong defense, and his young age, Andy held out hope that he would be reunited with his family and free again. Unfortunately, due to the negligence and deliberate disregard of the corrections officers and medical staff at Rikers island, Andy suffered excruciating pain and lost his life while he was locked up in a 5×10 foot cell. Andy’s family retained Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers to investigate his death and file a civil rights action for wrongful death and deprivation of proper medical care. Rikers and the City of New York claimed that they were not responsible for Andy’s death. The City provided no answers. Rikers’ officials only said that Andy was found “unresponsive” in his cell during a routine cell count. The corrections officers said they had no idea that Andy was sick. They claimed he never complained or showed any signs of weakness.
When we received the call from Andy’s mother, a wonderful mother from Washington Heights who had recently lost her job as a cleaning lady, Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers moved quickly.
Jack Giordano: “People have to realize that there are cameras all over Rikers Island’s facilities. It’s called the Genetec System. Everyone that works at Rikers or is jailed there can see the cameras, but not everyone knows that the video surveillance captured on those cameras is stored for an extremely limited amount of time, only 90 days. In Andy’s case, we knew we had to move quickly to preserve and obtain that video before it was overwritten in the Genetec System and permanently destroyed. Because Andy died in solitary and there were no witnesses, other than the blue wall of corrections officers, who should have done something to save him, we needed evidence if we were going to find out what happened to Andy and make a case.”
Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers immediately filed an Order to Show Cause to preserve and obtain the video while an autopsy was being performed.
Jack Giordano: “It’s not enough to request the video, you need to know what you’re looking for. You must be specific; you need to identify cameras; specific time frames and you need to think beyond the box to secure evidence you can only imagine exists. Without a Court Order requiring that the jail or prison must freeze, preserve, and disclose that information, you won’t have a prayer of finding out what really happened inside those jail walls. No one is going to tell you. You must be a detective and piece together the evidence to make a case. You better know what you’re doing, and you better move fast. You have to know the facilities better than the corrections officers that work inside them.”
When the autopsy came back that Andy’s cause of death was an aortic dissection, the family and Attorneys at Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers were surprised. A dissection in a young man of Andy’s age was unusual.
Jack Giordano: “We were shocked that Andy died of an aortic dissection. He was a strong young kid, healthy. This was not something we expected to see. An aortic dissection is a tear of the inner layer of the aorta. If it’s not repaired, the person will bleed to death. We filed another Order to Show Cause requesting that our Forensic Pathologist be given access to the slides and samples from the autopsy. When we were done with that and confirmed that Andy died from a painful dissection, that he slowly bled to death, we knew something was not right and we had a case. There was no way Andy did not complain about ongoing pain, it must have been unbearable, and the corrections officers must have turned a deaf ear.”
Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers then filed a wrongful death civil rights lawsuit in Federal Court in Manhattan, claiming violations of both federal law, the 8th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, 42 USC §1983 as well as state law claims for negligence.
Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers secured hundreds of hours of Genetec Rikers Island video surveillance from strategic locations around the facility, not just the area surrounding Andy’s cell. The video evidence was invaluable and showed how Andy showed visible signs of distress during the days preceding his death. Clinic medical records were also showed that Andy had complained about pain, but he was never accurately diagnosed, and he was simply sent back to his cell where he died a couple days later.
Jack Giordano: “If you know someone in Rikers or any jail or prison facility, keep in touch with them regularly. Put a few bucks in their accounts so they can call you at designated times. If they tell you they don’t feel right or are sick, it’s up to you to contact 311 if the jail is in New York City, or other authorities and make a record of the problem. You can request medical assistance on the inmates’ behalf, you can follow up. Chances are the corrections officers are not going to listen to an inmate especially when they can’t see an injury. We have had several cases where the inmate bled to death and the corrections officers ignored it because the injury was internal.”
Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers took several months to track down, interview and depose several inmates that were housed near Andy or who saw him in the days before his death. These brave individuals confirmed that Andy had been complaining repeatedly about being in pain and the corrections officers turned a deaf ear. The combined evidence, video, medical records, contradictions in the corrections officers’ testimony and the statements of fellow inmates were enough to secure a large seven figure million-dollar settlement from the city.
Jack Giordano: “No amount of money can compensate the family for the loss of a loved one. I told Andy’s Mom that her son would be happy she was taken care of and that his sister could be more financially secure. That’s the kind of kid Andy was, he cared about his family and would have wanted them to get the answers of how he died and be taken care of now that he is gone.”
You have a right to an autopsy when a loved one dies in jail. You have the right to examine the slides and samples from the autopsy and, if you move quickly, you may also be able to have your own forensic pathologist present for that autopsy. You have the right to get answers when you lose someone you love who was incarcerated. Secure a good attorney who knows what they are doing and understands that way correctional institutions are run.