Civil Plaintiff
$2.75M Settlement Reached in Inmate’s Flu Death
The Oregon Department of Corrections agreed to pay a record $2.75 million to the family of a man who died from the flu at the Oregon State Penitentiary and has apologized for the man’s “needless and preventable death.”
The amount is the largest settlement ever paid to an individual plaintiff in Oregon prison history.
The settlement comes nine months after the family of Michael Barton filed a $15 million wrongful death lawsuit accusing prison staff of failing to treat the 54-year-old inmate for the flu and then covering up his flu-related death.
On Tuesday, ODOC Director Colette Peters publicly apologized to Barton’s family.
