Lyvita Gomes
Lyvita Gomes, 52, a Mumbai native who had worked as a flight attendant for Pan Am and as a trainer for Delta, died on January 3, 2012, after being held at the Lake County Jail in Illinois. She was taken to a hospital on December 29, 2011, and died there after a hunger strike, which a news report attributed to self-imposed starvation and dehydration. The county said its officials had acted properly, while the hospital declined to comment on her care. Her estate sued, alleging that jail medical staff ignored her worsening condition; a federal judge dismissed the sheriff's office and jail officials from the case in 2016, but claims against the private medical provider, Correct Care Solutions, were allowed to proceed.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). She refused food in a hunger strike, and her estate's federal lawsuit says jail medical staff ignored her worsening condition, while county officials say they did everything right.
Reported by: reporters; estate of Lyvita Gomes, through a federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Her estate filed a federal lawsuit alleging that jail medical staff ignored her worsening condition, and in 2016 a federal judge dismissed the sheriff's office and jail officials, while claims against Correct Care Solutions could proceed.