Denver Health settles lawsuit

Lawyers for the family of Emily Rice, the 24-year-old who bled to death in 2006 in the Denver Jail while guards and nurses assumed she was drunk, settled their lawsuit with Denver Health Medical Center and some employees for $4 million Friday.

But Rice's family has not yet settled with the city of Denver or sheriff's employees, and the battle between the family's lawyer and the city attorney escalated.

Darold Killmer, an attorney for Rice's family, accused city officials of unnecessarily spending millions of taxpayer dollars on private lawyers to keep fighting the case, a claim City Attorney David Fine said is a distortion of the facts.

An affidavit, in which a jail guard said a Denver Health nurse kicked at Rice's feet after she slumped to the ground instead of examining her, also came to light Friday.

Sheriff's deputy Jessica Jaquez, who is a friend of the Rice family, was working at the jail when Rice was brought in.

Read more at the Rocky Mountain News