A jury finds a Sarasota operator of a Texas camp and a nurse at fault in a youth's death. He was ill for days before being taken to a hospital.
By Times Wires
Published August 28, 2003
FORT WORTH, Texas - A jury awarded $35-million Wednesday to the parents of an 18-year-old who died after staying at a Mansfield, Texas boot camp run by a Florida company.
Bryan Alexander's parents, Rickey Alexander and Judy Schumpert, won a wrongful death lawsuit against former nurse Knyvett Reyes and Correctional Services Corp., the Sarasota company that ran the now-defunct camp.
Last summer, Reyes was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to four years' community supervision.
CSC, which was paid about $2.9-million a year to run the camp, must pay 60 percent of the $35-million judgment; Reyes was ordered to pay 40 percent.
The jury also said Reyes and CSC acted with malice by ignoring Alexander's pleas for help, meaning they will have to pay punitive damages as well. The family is seeking $40-million; the amount was to be determined after more testimony today.
In January 2001, Alexander died of a rare penicillin-resistant form of pneumonia at a Fort Worth hospital, two days after being transported from the camp for probationers.
Reyes testified during the seven-week trial that she treated Alexander for a cold, strep throat and flu. Witnesses said Alexander complained of feeling weak and coughed up blood for days before he was hospitalized, but Reyes thought he was faking his illness.
Boot camp officials have previously said Alexander's autopsy showed the facility provided proper care.
"This case was more like a homicide case than a wrongful death lawsuit because of the way this young man died," said Arlington lawyer Charlie Smith, representing the Alexander family. "Bryan's family was hopeful that this jury would speak loud about the conduct of these defendants so it will not happen to another child in the same circumstances."
Alexander was at the camp for a drunken driving conviction and had no prior criminal record.
Tarrant County's criminal court judges closed the camp in July 2001 because of problems.
Alexander and Schumpert are also suing the judges who oversaw the facility in 2000 and 2001.
