California county to pay nearly $15 million to family of pregnant woman who died in jail, and limited federal oversight

Weeks before it was scheduled to go before a federal jury, San Diego County has agreed to a strikingly expensive end to a long-running lawsuit that stemmed from a chilling jail death nearly five years ago.

The county and one of its private healthcare contractors will pay $15 million to the family of Elisa Serna, a 24-year-old pregnant woman who died in the Las Colinas jail after a sheriff’s deputy and medical worker watched her collapse in her cell and left her alone to die.

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