TYLER, Texas — A federal lawsuit claims that Smith County and the healthcare provider for the jail failed to give an inmate medication, ultimately leading to his death in 2022.
On Monday, the family of D'Vonte Valentine, 24, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas claiming negligence and constitutional rights violations on the part of Smith County and Turn Key Health, the company that provides medical treatment to Smith County Jail inmates.
Valentine passed away on Dec. 4, 2022, after he was taken off life support while in the hospital. He was taken to the emergency room on Nov. 28, 2022, after he had experienced a fall from the toilet. Doctors at the hospital determined he was experiencing organ failure. He had been in the Smith County Jail since Nov. 16 for an aggravated assault charge, according to a report from the Texas Attorney General's Office.
His cause of death was listed as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, the report reads.
According to the lawsuit, Valentine's death was caused by a "complete failure to provide any medical care at all" when Turn Key Health and Smith County officers knew that Valentine needed steroid medications.
"D'Vonte's family brought his needed medications to the jail, very early in his incarceration. If D'Vonte had been provided his life-saving medications, he would not have suffered and died," the document reads.
Multiple medical incidents involving Valentine were reported from the day after he was booked into jail through Nov. 28, the day that he had to be taken to the emergency room for what was identified as organ failure. In the early morning hours of Nov. 28, Valentine was found lying on his back on the jail cell floor. The nursing director made attempts to help Valentine regain consciousness, but nothing worked, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that initially Valentine fell while getting up from the toilet. An officer helped Valentine get off of the floor and into his bunk. Valentine, who had a gash in the corner of his eye area and was bleeding, could not stand for more than a few seconds. That officer said Valentine fell again - this time from his bunk. Nursing staff members were alerted to check his vitals, but he was unresponsive. The nurse called 911 for EMS to come.
Valentine and his cellmate both confirmed that Valentine hadn't eaten anything in about two days. Yet at the same time, the lawsuit notes that an inmate log report for Valentine claimed jailers made well-being checks of Valentine in his cell and that everything was "OK."
A doctor who worked for Turn Key Health said he did not remember putting Valentine on steroids in an interview with a Texas Ranger who was investigating Valentine's death. That Ranger confirmed that the medication list didn't include the three required steroids, which the lawsuit states were "critical for (Valentine) to assure that he would not suffer and die."
Valentine never received the needed medications, the lawsuit claims.
In the interview, the doctor said "the ball was dropped" as the family did bring the steroids, but the doctor was not contacted and the medicines were not administered, according to the lawsuit.
Overall, the lawsuit asserts that Smith County and Turn Key Health knew their personnel, policies, practices and customs could or would not meet constitutional obligations to protect Valentine.
The family is seeking damages for Valentine's death through a jury trial.