$2.95 Million Settlement for Untreated Pneumonia Death in Washington Jail
Washington’s Pacific County agreed in state Court on November 22, 2024, to a $2.95 million settlement resolving claims by the survivors of Crystal R. Greenler, 38, who died of untreated pneumonia in the county lockup nearly two years earlier. Before the settlement, former jailer Patricia Rojas pleaded guilty to falling asleep on the job and failing to check on the detainee before her death, but the 364-day sentence that she received was suspended.
Greenler was arrested on December 10, 2022, on domestic assault charges for allegedly getting violent with husband Allen Greenler when he confronted her over a drug pipe found in her purse. Arresting officers from the Raymond Police Department were told that Greenler was ill. Evidence later emerged that Crystal Greenler may have been beaten; her podmates at the jail reported as much to contracted Physician Assistant Sherry Franks. They also reported that Greenler appeared extremely ill and had trouble breathing, but Franks allegedly conducted no examination and provided no treatment.
Three days later, on December 13, 2022, Greenler was found unresponsive by podmates and later declared dead. During an investigation by the neighboring Lewis County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), podmates Nicole L. Lombardo, Kim O’Connor and Laurel Webber told LCSO detectives that Greenler said she was the one who was beaten—by her husband and an unnamed relative also in the home—leaving her so badly injured that she was having trouble breathing and walking and had soiled herself. A fourth podmate named Helsen, who was also a Licensed Practical Nurse, attempted to care for the ill detainee.
Meanwhile, Rojas performed cell checks at 12:35 a.m. and 1:51 a.m. Additional cell checks performed at 2:53 a.m. and 4:17 a.m. skipped Greenler’s cell, though. Rojas explained that she rushed those after falling asleep on the job. At a 6:03 a.m. pill call, Greenler did not respond; yet she wasn’t found for another 2 hours and 28 minutes. For the lapse in cell checks, Rojas was initially charged with felony counts. She negotiated a guilty plea on January 16, 2024, to a misdemeanor charge of attempting to offer a false instrument for a filing or document. Rojas paid a $500 fine, avoiding any jail time.
Allen Greenler, who has since died, filed a tort claim for his wife’s wrongful death, which was amended to add her adult daughter. A third was filed on behalf of a second minor daughter by Budd Bay Law attorney Eric D. Pilon; that child’s custody was transferred to a family friend, who said the girl “was a witness to what happened to Crystal” and reported that the child said her mom “didn’t deserve what they did to her.”
The parties then proceeded to reach their settlement agreement on October 7, 2024. Under its terms, $1,921,922 was to be divided between the three claimants, with another $1,038,078 in costs and fees paid largely to attorneys representing them from Budge & Heipt PLLC in Seattle and Buri Funston Mumford, PLLC in Bellingham; attorneys with J. Michael Morgan PLLC in Olympia also received a share of the legal payout, along with South Bend attorney William Penoyar and litigation ad litem Balsam Quinlan. See: Greenler v. Pacific Cty., Pacific Cty. Bd. of Cty. Comms. Claim No. 2023-12-009; and Morgan v. Pacific Cty., Pacific Cty. Bd. of Cty. Comms. Claim No. 2024-02-002.
Additional sources: Chehalis-Centralia Chronicle, Chinook Observer
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Related legal case
Greenler v. Pacific Cty.
| Year | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Pacific Cty. Bd. of Cty. Comms. Claim No. 2023-12-009 |
| Attorney Fees | 1038078 |
| Damages | 1921922 |
Morgan v. Pacific Cty., Pacific Cty. Bd. of Cty. Comms. Claim No. 2024-02-002