Budge & Heipt in the News category
Please take some time to read about our firm’s results, and review our blog to learn more about the types of cases we take and our views on civil rights violations, including wrongful death or catastrophic injury by police or in prison or jail.
Jails are can be dangerous places. Unfortunately, inmate-against-inmate assaults (including sexual assaults) do occur. Some assaults result in extremely serious injuries, or even death. When such assaults occur, jail officials can face legal liability under the Constitution for failing to prevent them, but only in limited circumstances. The Supreme Court has held that jail officials […]
Jail death attorneys, Budge & Heipt, have filed a $10 million claim against the King County Jail in Seattle for the wrongful death of a pretrial detainee. The detainee, Nathan Zambryski, died at the jail in May 2015 from complications relating to alcohol withdrawal. Budge & Heipt, the lawyers for the estate of Mr. Zambryski, […]
Inmate Death in Monroe, Washington: MONROE — When detectives arrived to investigate a vicious assault at the Monroe Correctional Center in May, they expected to examine the crime scene. They couldn’t. There wasn’t one. When a Monroe Police Department detective inquired about the dearth of physical evidence, the lieutenant on duty inside the Special Offenders […]
The father of an incapacitated man now living at Western State Hospital has sued the Seattle Police Department on his son’s behalf, claiming the mentally ill man suffered brain damage in May 2010 when officers serving a warrant used excessive force to arrest him. The lawsuit names 15 individual officers, and alleges Brian Scott Torgerson, […]
SEATTLE — The family of a man who suffers from mental illness is suing the Seattle Police Department, alleging the man suffered severe brain damage during an arrest last year. Attorney Ed Budge claims 15 Seattle police officers stepped over the line while trying to arrest his client, Brian Torgerson, on May 29, 2010. Torgerson’s […]
OLYMPIA – The city of Olympia has reached a $260,000 settlement with Cynthia Brown, who was illegally strip-searched and shot with a Taser in the city jail in 2008. “I think it’s vindication to some degree,” said Edwin Budge, Brown’s Seattle-based attorney. “It was supposed to send a message to the city…” Despite settling the […]
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The city of Olympia has agreed to pay $260,000 to a woman strip-searched and zapped with a stun gun in the city jail. Cynthia Brown’s lawyer Edwin Budge calls the agreement “vindication to some degree.” While settling, the city denies liability. Its outside counsel for the case, Donald Law, says the […]
OLYMPIA – In an unusual move, the City of Olympia has posted documents on its website relating to the case of Cynthia Brown, who sued the city in September after being illegally strip-searched and shot with a Taser in the city jail in 2008. Councilwoman Rhenda Strub said she had the documents posted after three […]
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of a terroristic threatening suspect who died while in police custody on Maui is moving forward. A federal judge ruled Wednesday night that there’s sufficient evidence to send the case to trial. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are pleased, saying they’ve now cleared a major legal […]
The Juneau Empire reports on an alcohol withdrawal death lawsuit settled by the State of Alaska: ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– The state of Alaska has paid $573,000 to settle a lawsuit over the death of an inmate at the Ketchikan Correctional Center, according to attorneys representing the inmate’s mother. The wrongful death claim involves 31-year-old Troy Wallace, who […]
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