The state of Oregon has agreed to pay $49 million to the families of inmates who died while in state custody during the COVID-19 pandemic and to the more than 5,000 people who contracted the virus while incarcerated.
The settlement agreement was filed on Wednesday afternoon and needs court approval before it’s finalized.
Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, said in a statement that the global pandemic put significant demands on the state’s corrections workforce.
“It is also important we recognize the impacts and hardships this pandemic imposed on [adults in custody] and their families, especially those who lost loved ones,” Kotek said in a statement. “This settlement is an opportunity for people to heal and find closure after such a challenging chapter in Oregon’s history.”
The lawsuit stems back to 2020, during the height of the pandemic. A group of seven incarcerated people in Oregon with underlying medical conditions sued, saying the state did not prioritize their medical care while in custody between 2020 and 2021.
The civil rights lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court by the Oregon Justice Resource Center on behalf of the people in custody, alleged the state Department of Corrections did not take the necessary steps to slow the spread of the virus inside its 14 institutions where more than 12,000 incarcerated people lived at the time.
The first part of the settlement, about $10 million, will be paid through the state’s self-insurance fund, which is made up of taxpayer dollars. Some lawmakers have voiced concerns recently that with the increase in payouts for state wrongdoing, the fund risks insolvency. The remaining funds will have to be approved and allocated during the 2027 legislative session. But if lawmakers do not allocate the money this session, the settlement agreement would be voided, and the case would return to litigation.
More than $33 million will go to resolve claims of wrongful death, while nearly $16 million will go toward the group of people who contracted the virus. The amount of money people receive will depend on the severity of their illness from the virus. About 25% of the people who will receive the funds are believed to still be incarcerated.
The proposal for the wrongful death portion of the settlement suggests dividing the money equally among each of the 38 class members’ estates. That would equal about $871,000 per claimant, but attorneys’ fees and costs would be deducted from the amount.
Kotek said in a statement that the settlement was preferable to ongoing legal costs if the court case was allowed to continue. She said her office, along with the state’s Department of Justice, believed settling was a smarter financial decision for the state.
The lawsuit names then-Gov. Kate Brown, former Oregon Department of Corrections Director Colette Peters and other prison officials in both their personal and professional capacities.
Mike Reese, the director of the Department of Corrections, said state employees reported to work daily during the pandemic.
“They did so under unprecedented conditions, often placing their own health and the health of their families at risk,” Reese said. “Their commitment, resilience, and sense of duty during this period cannot be overstated.”
A status conference in the case is scheduled for Thursday.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
