The estate of Madelyn Linsenmeir, whose viral obituary in Seven Days led to to the newspaper’s “Hooked” series about the opioid crisis last year, has sued law enforcement authorities in Massachusetts, where she died in custody.
The wrongful death suit alleges she succumbed to a heart infection that went untreated during several days that she was held by police and in prison, despite her repeated pleas for medical help.
Linsenmeir, or “Maddie” to those who read the stories penned by her sister, Kate O’Neill, was a Burlington, Vt., native who had long suffered from opioid-use disorder. She was arrested on a probation violation warrant in Springfield, Mass., on September 29, 2018. During her booking interview, she repeatedly said she was sick and requested medical care.
“I have a really, really bad chest, like I don’t know what happened to it. It feels like it’s caving in,” she said, as recorded on police surveillance video. “I can’t breathe.”
Instead of the hospital, she was taken to a cell. The next day, Linsenmeir was transported to the Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee, Mass. She was held in an “orientation unit” where staff are accustomed to “a large number of opioid users experiencing withdrawal at a given time,” the suit says. She again asked for medical help, it says.
“WCC staff members told Madelyn that the situation was her own fault for using drugs,” the suit asserts.
On October 4, 2018, prison staff found her in “severe distress.” She was initially “unresponsive” and then “incoherent.” Workers summoned an ambulance, the suit says.
Hospital staff quickly diagnosed her with endocarditis, a heart infection that can result from intravenous drug use, with complications. She was given antibiotics, and on October 5 was placed on a respirator. She died on October 8. She was 30 years old.
“If diagnosed at an appropriate time, infective endocarditis is generally treatable through medications and/or surgery,” the suit states.
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The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts and the firm Goulston & Storrs filed the suit on behalf of Maura O’Neill, Linsenmeir’s sister and administrator of her estate. The only beneficiary of the estate is her son.
The suit further asserts that Springfield officials hampered efforts to find out what had happened after Linsenmeir’s arrest and to shield police employees from accountability. Her family requested public records related to her death and the city claimed that none existed, the suit alleges.
“This was false,” it says, adding that an investigation had already been concluded. From the suit:
During that investigation, Internal Investigation Unit personnel had coached the [Springfield Police Department] officers by showing them videos of their own interactions with Madelyn [Linsenmeir] while they prepared their written statements — a practice that placed the officers in a position to know which assertions could be contradicted by video evidence and which could not. Certain officers then produced written statements that are inconsistent with, or contradicted by, the information those same officers provided in their initial oral interview.
Edward Pikula, the Springfield city solicitor, did not immediately respond to a telephone message for comment left on Thursday afternoon.
The full complaint is here:
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Obituary: Madelyn Linsenmeir, 1988-2018
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She was sick and died because she was a long term junkie . The damage she inflicted on those around her was substantial . Readers of 7days have had to read article after article on her self inflicted misery . And now her family wishes to sue . Hasn’t she caused enough harm to society ? Enough !
Richard, she is a human being who had a disease. Your lack of compassion and empathy is disgusting. What if it was your daughter?
Police officers killing people and then lying about it, under the oath of public office, and in the Gestapo State of Massachusetts no less??? How could this be? All the propaganda on the TV says they’re Hero’s!
I love the picture at the head of the article. My psy-op training immediately calls my attention to the municipal terrorists standing up on a platform, high above the peasants on the other side of the counter who are forced to look up at their Lords. This is what public service means these days.
What was the purpose of not giving her water?! I can almost understand ignoring her complaints about being in pain, since I’m guessing that happens frequently with people who have an addiction, but what the fuck! Give her some fucking water, you fucking animals!
@Marilee while Richard’s comments may have been a little too straightforward for your liking, his first sentence was accurate. I have all the compassion and empathy in the world for her and her family & friends, but sadly she created and put herself in that situation and that is the lesson young people and other addicts need to learn and understand. It’s terrible and tragic, but true.
Sure Richard went a bit too far with his comments, and when we sugarcoat this terrible problem plaguing society by covering it up with terms such as opioid-use disorder, we can expect it to continue. Young people need to know it’s a potential killer, not merely some disorder.
MARILEE, I agree 100% with what you said.. She was a sick woman and those assholes did nothing! I also disagree with Richard because he seems to have a closed mind and doesn’t seem to have any feelings for her and the family! Personally I enjoyed reading all of the stories that Katie wrote. She is a very talented writer and wish she would write more. And as for the readers, nobody forced them to read the stories..