Settlement expected in Winnebago County Jail death lawsuit

From Chris Green’s article in the Rockford Register Star

ROCKFORD — The Winnebago County Board is expected to vote on a $400,000 settlement this week with the family of a man who died by suicide in the county jail.

Justin Matthews, 19, of Rockford, who was arrested in connection to a 2016 homicide, was found dead in his jail cell on Jan. 20, 2018. He was found seated under a shelf and bracket that was bolted to the wall. One end of a torn shirt was wrapped around the bracket supporting the shelf and the other end of the shirt was around his neck.

A year later, the family filed a wrongful death suit against the county, Sheriff Gary Caruana and a corrections officer alleging Matthews had a history of suicide attempts and should not have been left alone in a cell with "hanging points."

The plaintiffs, Matthews' grandmother, Beverly Lundeen, and great uncle, Matthew Emigholz, a co-administrator of Matthews' estate, were represented by Deerfield-based attorney Craig Sandberg, of Sandberg Law Office.

"I think it's a great settlement for everybody," Sandberg said. "It's going to allow the family to put this matter behind them and just focus on his memory and things like that."

Sandberg said the settlement also saves the county time and money from having to go to trial, risk losing and paying out more money. 

Winnebago County Board member Paul Arena, R-7, a member of the board's Finance Committee, said the settlement will be covered under the board's liability insurance.

"We have a $250,000 deductible," he said. "So, they (the board's council) felt that we would not get a judgment less than that when all was said and done. So, there was no motivation for us to continue to fight the case."

The board's Finance Committee voted unanimously in favor of the settlement. The matter will now go before the full county board on Thursday.

Click here to read the full article on the Rockford Register Star website.