EVERETT — Snohomish County has paid out $16,000 to settle a lawsuit from a woman who gave birth in the jail three years ago.
Tawni Kosnosky was booked into the county jail Jan. 28, 2013. At the time, she was seven and a half months pregnant. She told jail staff she had not received any prenatal care and had been using heroin every day.
The jail put her under observation for heroin withdrawals, records show.
She said her cries for help went ignored while she went into premature labor Feb. 2, 2013. She gave birth on the toilet in her cell. In its report, the sheriff’s office said the baby arrived less than 30 minutes after Kosnosky’s water broke.
Last year, Kosnosky filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that she was denied adequate medical care at the jail. In the lawsuit, she accused jail staff of showing her “deliberate indifference.”
Her amended complaint, filed Feb. 1, did not name the dollar amount she was seeking.
At that point, Snohomish County already had denied Kosnosky’s claim for damages from 2014, in which she sought $150,000.
The lawsuit was dismissed April 11 as part of the March 9 settlement. The Daily Herald recently obtained a copy of the eight-page settlement from the county through a public records request.
The document says the county denied any liability but was settling “doubtful and disputed claims.”
The county also made clear in the document that the money would go to Kosnosky, now 28 and apparently living in Stanwood, and not the baby boy who was born in the jail.
“This claim is brought solely on her own behalf, and not on behalf of the minor child,” the settlement says.
The boy, now a toddler, was placed with Kosnosky’s family after an investigation by state social workers, according to court papers from the time. Child Protective Services does not discuss current custody arrangements for children.
Kosnosky’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Jason Cummings, the county’s chief civil deputy prosecutor, on Tuesday declined to comment, saying, “The document speaks for itself.”
Just two babies have been born at the jail since 2005, according to the sheriff’s office.
Before giving birth in 2013, Kosnosky had been booked on a warrant for her arrest related to a pending court case. In March 2014, she was the subject of another warrant for skipping out on her Department of Corrections community supervision. At that time, she was on probation for forgery and mail theft convictions.
Kosnosky remains under supervision by state corrections officers.
As of this week, “she is currently on warrant status for violations of her supervision,” the department reported.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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