The state has agreed to pay $90,000 to settle lawsuits over the apparent suicide of a prison inmate in 1997.
The mother of former Halawa Correctional Facility inmate Lance Taylor filed suits in both federal and district courts, accusing prison medical staff of waiting more than an hour before summoning an ambulance after Taylor had been found bleeding in his cell around midnight Dec. 27, 1997.
The Taylor case is part of a package of settlements and judgments pending approval by the state Legislature this year.
In the Taylor case, Halawa staff members called for an ambulance after Taylor had slashed himself on both arms but then canceled the call. An ambulance was summoned again an hour later, according to 911 tapes.
"There were issues as to whether the doctor on call actually ordered the ambulance to be canceled," said Deputy Attorney General Jack Rosenzweig. "Since Mr. Taylor died in the clinic, there would have been an issue as (to whether) reasonable, proper care could have saved Mr. Taylor’s life."
Rosenzweig said former prison medical director Michael Lauer denied canceling the call for the ambulance. Lauer is no longer employed by the state, Rosenzweig said.
Taylor was pronounced dead on arrival at Pali Momi Medical Center. He died from cardiac arrest caused by massive blood loss, the suit said.
Taylor, 35, had been serving time for a parole violation after originally being sent to prison for second-degree assault, bail-jumping and escape.
