The estate of a Black man who died in a Vermont prison more than five years ago has agreed to accept $1.5 million to resolve a lawsuit brought against the state’s former medical provider alleging that racism, medical malpractice and negligence led to the man’s death.
Details of the proposed resolution were included in recent court filings in the case in U.S. District Court in Burlington arising from the December 2019 death of 60-year-old Kenneth Johnson at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport.
A court filing by attorneys in the case, titled a “Stipulated Order of Judgment,” still needs the approval of Judge Christina Reiss, who has presided over the case.
The filing seeking the order of judgment to resolve the claims differs from a straight out settlement.
“It’s a judgment, and that’s an important distinction,” said James Valente, an attorney representing Johnson’s estate.
Confidentiality provisions are often part of settlements resolving litigation between private parties. A judgment, on the other hand, is a matter of public record.
“Our client had reservations about a settlement that would include a confidentiality provision,” Valente said Thursday. Olynthea Johnson, Kenneth Johnson’s sister, is the administrator of his estate.
Shap Smith, an attorney for Centurion Health, the state’s contracted medical provider for prisons at the time of Johnson’s death, declined to comment Thursday.
The lawsuit filed in December 2021 alleged that Johnson died in the prison infirmary after workers for Virginia-based Centurion Health failed to diagnose and treat a tumor that led to Johnson’s death by asphyxiation.
The wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit also alleged Centurion Health discriminated against Johnson, a Black man, due to his race.
According to the suit, Johnson endured “extreme pain and suffering” and “extreme psychological distress” in the hours before he died. The suit accuses guards and medical staff of ignoring his pleas for medical help.
Initial reports from the Vermont Department of Corrections at the time said it appeared Johnson died from natural causes. A person who was incarcerated with Johnson told Seven Days a week after Johnson’s death that he had been having difficulty breathing and begging for medical care before he died.
Later, investigations, including the one by the Vermont Defender’s General’s Office, blasted the corrections department and Centurion medical staff over the care provided to Johnson.
A court filing by Centurion’s attorneys stated that the health care provider has made an offer of $1.5 million to the estate. “This offer of judgment includes all amounts that might be recovered by the estate for any damages, costs, attorneys’ fees, and pre-judgment interest,” the filing said.
The offer of judgment, the filing added, was “not to be construed as an admission of liability by any defendants, or any official, employee or agent of Centurion of Vermont.”
In a separate court filing this week, the estate accepted the offer. As of Thursday afternoon, the judge had yet to sign off on the proposed order of judgment, according to court filings.
Valente, speaking Thursday afternoon, said he believed that the judge would sign off on the order. If the judge does so, the lawsuit would be resolved.
Johnson’s estate had previously reached a settlement with the Vermont Department of Corrections, which had also been named as a defendant in the lawsuit, for $150,000, according to Valente and a corrections department spokesperson.
That $150,000 payment is in addition to the $1.5 million the estate would receive from Centurion.
