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Jail workers blamed for death After verdict, county and man's family discuss settlement By DANI DODGE A federal jury unanimously agreed Tuesday afternoon that Jackson County jail employees' negligence led to the death of Jeffrey Stuart Anderson and said his family should get $3.1 million. But as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Judge John P. Cooney had not accepted the verdict and the county and the family were in settlement talks. "There has been a settlement proposal made," said attorney Robert Cowling, who represents the county. "It's subject to approval ... of the two attorneys, the family and the county commissioners." Tuesday night, the Board of Commissioners announced "an emergency meeting in order to consider a proposed settlement agreement in the case of Jeffrey Stuart Anderson" at 10 a.m. today. A settlement would be attractive for the county because it would be for less money than that awarded by the jury. It could be attractive for the family, because they would avoid the inevitable appeals the county would pursue. Attorneys, family members and the sheriff declined to comment on the amount of the possible settlement. Although the jury did come to a decision, its verdict contained inconsistencies and the judge wasn't ready to accept it. It was a strange legal limbo after six days of testimony and two days of jury deliberation in Medford's federal court. The case is about Anderson, who turned himself in to the jail April 2, 1996, for a probation violation. The 33-year-old Medford man had been convicted of driving under the influence of intoxicants and had not completed the education portion of his sentence. While in jail he began to suffer severe alcohol withdrawal. He was given Librium to calm him, but then the drug was discontinued. He was put in the county's restraint chair for 10 hours and 22 minutes. While in the chair, he continued to hallucinate. When he got out of the chair, he was covered with bruises, including some about his face and head. Nurses resumed giving him Librium the next day, but he continued to have delusions. On April 7, a nurse found him on a floor of his cell. He had urinated on himself. He was taken to the hospital, but by then a baseball-sized blood clot had formed in his brain. He died May 2 when life support was discontinued. The family sued the county for using excessive force and ignoring Anderson's medical needs. They alleged only a beating could have resulted in the numerous bruises on Anderson's body, including finger-shaped bruises on his neck. But, during the trial, no witnesses testified they saw Anderson beaten or mistreated. The family's attorney, Foster Glass, asked the jury to make the finding of excessive force based on photographic evidence of Anderson's bruised body. The eight-person jury deliberated two hours on Tuesday and six hours Wednesday before making a decision, filling out a complex four-page verdict form. The jurors cleared deputies of the excessive use of force allegation stating county jail employees did not "use force on decedent maliciously and sadistically for the very purpose of causing harm." But the jury found the county hadn't properly cared for Anderson while he was in the jail. Jurors agreed that county employees acted with "deliberate indifference to descendant's serious medical needs" and that it was a result of a policy, practice or custom of Jackson County. The jury also said the county failed to adequately train, supervise, or discipline the employees involved. When jurors were asked if the sheriff's employees negligence was a cause of Anderson's death, they said "yes." Jurors awarded Anderson's mother and two teenage sons $3,075,931.30 in damages that include medical expenses and loss of companionship. But some of the answers the jury gave were inconsistent with the amount of money it awarded. Cowling called for a mistrial. Glass asked the judge to call the jurors back in and have them rework the complex verdict form with a bit more information. The attorneys agreed to work on making the jury instructions more clear, and left the courtroom without the verdict yet being accepted. Anderson's relatives, who weren't in the courtroom when the verdict was read, began to arrive at the courthouse soon afterward. Anderson's sister-in-law began crying when Glass told her about the jury's decision. "It's about time," Annette Dillard sobbed. Then Glass began to cry also. "We got justice for once," he said. "This is vindication," declared Helen Anderson, the victim's mother. Soon after, family members were hustled into a small conference rooms, presumably to hear settlement offers. Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.