Judge Declines To Dismiss Wrongful Death Lawsuit For Woman Found In Ditch

SAN DIEGO, CA — A federal judge declined to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday filed by the family of a woman who was allegedly found in a water-filled ditch in Lemon Grove days after a resident sought law enforcement assistance for her.

The lawsuit concerns last summer's death of 43-year-old Irma Espinoza, who was discovered in the ditch half-naked, covered in ants, and with her face almost below the water line, according to her family's lawsuit filed against San Diego County, Sheriff Kelly Martinez, and several unnamed sheriff's deputies.

A local resident called 911 and first responders pulled Espinoza out of the ditch and took her to a hospital, where she died.

That same resident, Richard Quinones, called the sheriff's non-emergency line three days earlier after he found Espinoza sitting in the ditch with her legs partially submerged in the water.

The lawsuit alleges an unidentified deputy responded by driving to the scene, stopping momentarily, then leaving without ever stepping out of her SUV. The deputy later claimed Espinoza had left the area, while the lawsuit alleges Espinoza was still sitting in the ditch that entire time.

Quinones called again when the deputy didn't return and when the deputy returned his call, she allegedly told him, "She's a transient" and "Get used to it," the lawsuit claims.

After telling him to leave the situation alone, Quinones felt "intimidated by the call and believed he would get in trouble with law enforcement if he called for help a third time," the lawsuit alleges.

Three days later, he found Espinoza in the same ditch while walking his dogs.

A medical examiner determined her cause of death was complications of chronic alcohol abuse with hepatic cirrhosis and acute pancreatitis.

However, the lawsuit states the autopsy report omitted references to physical injuries on her body such as bruising and contusions.

The lawsuit claims that prior to Espinoza's death, another resident saw "a man coming out of the area where Ms. Espinoza had last been seen, acting suspiciously," who then "hurried away" when he saw the resident. The lawsuit states that resident didn't call police "because she knew that Mr. Quinones had already called and the Sheriff's Office and that an official had forcefully told him to leave it alone."

In a written ruling issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel rejected most of the requests to dismiss the case brought by the defendants.

The judge wrote that the lawsuit plausibly claimed that the female deputy who responded to the scene "placed or exposed Ms. Espinoza to a situation that was more dangerous than the one she found her in," including by allegedly lying by saying Espinoza had left the scene and intimidating Quinones from taking further actions to help Espinoza.

Curiel also declined to dismiss causes of action against three of the deputy's supervisors, who are accused of knowing the female deputy failed to return to the scene and had dissuaded Quinones from providing assistance.

Curiel did grant a motion to dismiss a cause of action against Sheriff Kelly Martinez, which alleged she failed to properly supervise her employees in various respects. The judge wrote that the lawsuit did not present specific examples showing Martinez "was provided notice, or in fact knew, of any prior incidents of deputies failing to protect an individual from harm after taking affirmative acts and placing that individual in harms way."

Curiel also dismissed a claim brought against the county that alleged it had longstanding policies that led to violations of Espinoza's constitutional rights. These policies allegedly led to other instances of misconduct by sheriff's deputies, but Curiel wrote that the examples alleged by the plaintiffs were too dissimilar to the circumstances in Espinoza's case.

— City News Service