California Will Pay $1.9 Million to Settle Wrongful Death Suit Alleging Inmate Death
California State Prisoner should have been protected after interview.
LONG BEACH, Calif., Sept. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Attorney, Alex Galindo with the law offices of Curd, Galindo & Smith, LLP announces the settlement of the case entitled Castro v State. Court records show that on Oct. 23, 2017, plaintiffs' family member, decedent, Rodrick Castro, 33, an inmate at Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI) in Tracy, California was questioned about allegations a former cellmate of his had been involved in drug dealing. The lawsuit alleges that Castro's cellmate at Salinas Valley State Prison witnessed the interrogation before Castro was transferred to DVI. Subsequently, on Oct. 24, 2017, Castro was found deceased after having been stabbed 92 times in the neck and torso with an ice pick type object.
Plaintiffs, Castro's parents and Castro's three children, sued the State of California, which operated the prison; Kimberly Seibel, the warden of the prison; R. Adolfson, a corrections officer and the CDCR California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, secretary Ralph Diaz.
The court records show that Plaintiffs alleged that the prison staff and officials failed to keep Castro safe by separating him from those that could have harmed him, such as rival gang members.
The lawsuit also alleges that video recordings from inside the prison showed suspected inmates that harmed Castro were planning the attack and that the prison guards failed to monitor the live video that could have allowed them to move Castro, before he was killed.
The Defendants' response disputed all of the family members allegations.
The suit was filed in the United States District Court-Sacramento, Case No.: 2:18-cv-02115-KJM-EFB. The court records show that a settlement was reported to the court on August 29, 2019.
Mr. Galindo is a founding member of Curd, Galindo & Smith, LLP which is a full service law firm that represents both corporate and professional clients and those who have been seriously injured or have lost a family member due to an accident, defective product, police misconduct or negligence. The law firm has recovered millions of dollars for its thousands of clients since 1995 by winning complex and challenging business disputes, death and injury cases involving police misconduct, traffic collisions, work place injuries and defective products, including defective automobiles, against some of the world's largest companies and governmental agencies.
Mr. Galindo received his business degree from University of Southern California in 1982 and his law degree in 1985 from the University of Oklahoma. Mr. Galindo has been a lawyer and real estate broker for over 25 years. He has won numerous jury verdicts and settlements in the area of personal injury, products liability and civil rights/police misconduct cases. Mr. Galindo is a member of ABOTA which is an organization of attorneys representing both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases. All of the attorneys who belong to ABOTA have earned great distinction at trial. Mr. Galindo is a member of Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Consumer Attorneys of California, Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles, NPAP (National Police Accountability Project), National Lawyers Guild, National Association of Realtors and California Association of Realtors.
SOURCE Curd, Galindo & Smith, LLP
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