A woman is suing after she said she was left to give birth with no medical assistance while in a cell at the Denver County Jail.
Diana Sanchez, 27, said she alerted jail staff that she was in labor July 31, 2018, but was not given immediate medical attention, NBC News reported. She was reportedly booked into jail over identity fraud charges two weeks before she went into labor.
Sanchez filed a lawsuit against the city of Denver, the county of Denver, Denver Health Medical Center and six other people, according to Fox 31.
She said several Denver Health nurses and jail staff members were aware she was in active labor before she gave birth, but she “callously made her labor alone for hours,” according to The Washington Post, citing the lawsuit. (RELATED: Cardi B Assures Fans She Will Not Be Going To Jail After Receiving Felony Charges)
GRAPHIC: Diana Sanchez says nurses and deputies made her labor alone for hours and then watched her give birth from outside the cell. https://t.co/gyOM2mIYEA
— CBS 17 (@WNCN) August 29, 2019p
“The failure to provide care to a woman who is in labor and a baby who is born without any medical assistance in a dirty jail cell, this is not civilized,” Sanchez’s attorney Mari Newman told Fox 31 in a statement. “Picks up the baby as though he’s never seen one in his life. I mean, the lack of any sort of compassion is astounding.”
Sanchez was reportedly taking methadone for opiate withdrawal during her pregnancy, potentially creating a health risk for her baby, according to NBC News.
An investigation by the Denver Sheriff’s Department cleared its deputies from any wrongdoing during the incident, according to WaPo.
WATCH:
“We empathize with anyone who is in jail while pregnant including Ms. Sanchez,” according to Denver Sheriff’s spokeswoman Daria Serna’s statement Thursday. “Ms. Sanchez was in the medical unit and under the care of Denver health medical professionals at the time she gave birth.”
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