Kevin Lee McLaughlin
Kevin Lee McLaughlin, 60, of San Luis Obispo, died on April 13, 2017, while held at the San Luis Obispo County Jail. According to the coroner's report, he told jail staff he felt unwell and asked to go to the hospital, and he was returned to his cell, where he was found unresponsive about two hours later. The coroner's office ruled the death natural, from a heart attack. His mother, Dorothy McLaughlin, brought a wrongful death suit alleging deliberate indifference to his emergency medical needs, and the county settled for $41,850 over the family's objections, a settlement a judge enforced in February 2020.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The coroner ruled the death natural from cardiac arrhythmia due to heart disease, while his mother's wrongful death suit alleges jail staff ignored his complaints of shoulder pain and his emergency medical needs and returned him to his cell.
Reported by: Coroner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); his mother's wrongful death suit (family or their lawyers); a judge.
Lawsuit: His mother sued San Luis Obispo County over his death, and the county settled for $41,850 over the family's objections, a settlement a judge enforced in February 2020.