A woman whose husband died after Charleston police refused to transport him to a hospital for medical care after an alcohol-related crash has reached a $550,000 settlement with the city and the county that will prompt the department to change its officer training and video policies.
Justin Bamberg of Bamberg Law in Bamberg and Sam Clawson Jr. and Christy Fargnoli of Clawson Fargnoli in Charleston report that Nathaniel Rhodes was involved in a T-bone style car crash in August 2018 in downtown Charleston and died in surgery four days after the crash.
Bamberg
Rhodes had asked to be taken to the emergency room, but a police officer signed a medical transport refusal form on his behalf. The attorneys say that over the course of two hours the officer conducted a field sobriety test on Rhodes, placed him under arrest, and took him to jail. Officers’ body cameras and dashboard cameras of the incident were inoperable.
Rhodes was eventually transported to MUSC where he was diagnosed with eight broken ribs, a liver laceration, bile leak, and extensive internal bleeding. His widow, Annette Rhodes, alleged that the death was caused by the delay in providing medical care.
Medical experts for Rhodes’ estate couldn’t link the delay in treatment to his death, so the attorneys shifted their focus from a theory of wrongful death to a claim based on the pain and suffering that Rhodes endured during the two hours he awaited medical treatment, which they argued constituted a violation of his federal civil rights.
“The importance of the case was the civil rights part of the case, and the fact that he was denied medical treatment. And law enforcement just can’t do that,” Fargnoli said. “You have a constitutional right to be free of pain and suffering, to be free from punishment, and to get medical treatment when it’s reasonable.”
Clawson
The city will pay Rhodes $475,000, and the county will pay $75,000. Bamberg said that the allegations of federal civil rights violations allowed Rhodes to collect a recovery in excess of the $300,000 cap on actual damages set by the South Carolina Tort Claims Act.
Bamberg said that multiple requests under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that key video had been deleted by the police department and produced thousands of pages of records regarding the incidents and others involving the same police officer, who was suspended and ultimately placed in a job that does not involve making arrests. A SLED investigation determined no criminal action was necessary against the officer.
The department also agreed to change policies related to officers’ body and vehicle cameras and its video archiving. It now also trains its officers that they cannot refuse medical treatment to anyone requesting it.
“More important than the monetary recovery, we secured enduring positive change that will hopefully prevent tragedies like this from occurring in the future,” Clawson said.
The order approving the settlement was signed by Circuit Court Judge Thomas Hughston Jr. on Nov. 12, before the lawsuit was filed.
Fargnoli
Elloree Gaines of Hood Law Firm in Charleston represented the city, and Darren Sanders of Buyck, Sanders & Simmons in Charleston represented the county. A spokesperson said the city was working on producing a statement. The county did not respond to a request for comment on the settlement.
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SETTLEMENT REPORT – CIVIL RIGHTS
Amount: $550,000
Injuries alleged: Violations of civil rights, death, and pain and suffering
Case name: Annette P. Rhodes, individually and as Personal Representative of the State of Nathaniel Rhodes v. City of Charleston and, the County of Charleston
Court: Charleston County Circuit Court
Case No.: 2019-CP-10-06045
Judge: Thomas L. Hughston Jr.
Date of settlement: Nov. 12
Insurance carrier: S.C. Insurance Reserve Fund
Attorneys for plaintiff: Sam Clawson and Christy Fargnoli of Clawson Fargnoli in Charleston and Justin Bamberg of Bamberg Legal in Bamberg
Attorneys for defendants: Elloree Gaines of Hood Law Firm in Charleston for the City of Charleston, and Darren Sanders of Buyck, Sanders & Simmons in Charleston for the County of Charleston