Lawsuit over developmentally disabled woman’s death in jail can proceed, judge rules

A federal judge has denied motions to dismiss a lawsuit over the death of a developmentally disabled woman in San Diego County jail custody, allowing her family’s claims of unconstitutional medical neglect, violations of federal disabilities law and other systemic failures to move forward.

In a 70-page order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Hayes ruled that the lawsuit sufficiently argued that sheriff’s deputies, jail medical staff and private healthcare contractors had failed to respond appropriately as Roselee Bartolacci’s mental and physical health deteriorated during her nearly two months in the Las Colinas jail.

The ruling clears the way for the case to proceed into discovery and a potential trial. Hayes denied motions to dismiss filed by San Diego County, Sheriff Kelly Martinez and jail medical contractors NaphCare and Correctional Healthcare Partners.

Bartolacci, 32, was developmentally disabled and suffered from schizoaffective disorder, a mental illness that combines symptoms of schizophrenia and a mood disorder. Her mother’s lawsuit describes her as functioning at the level of a young child.

In early 2023, the psychiatric medication Bartolacci relied on stopped working. The lawsuit says she began hearing voices, experiencing paranoia and having angry outbursts.

On April 6, 2023, Bartolacci struck her mother with a hammer during what the lawsuit describes as a psychiatric crisis. Her mother called 9-1-1 to seek help from San ...