Wagoner Co. Commissioners Approve Multi-Million Dollar Settlement To Woman's Family After Her Death In Jail

Wagoner County Commissioners approved a settlement to pay the family of a woman who died in the Wagoner County Jail back in 2021 $13.5 million.

The lawsuit filed by Angela Liggans’ family says Wagoner County detention officers did not give the woman insulin.

Liggans was a type one diabetic and died in custody.

The attorney for Liggans says this case is horrific, and that her family sees the money as some semblance of justice, but that they know it won’t bring Liggans back.

Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliot says Liggans was booked into the Wagoner County Jail on May 17, 2021, on several complaints including assault and battery on a police officer, domestic assault, and obstruction.

The lawsuit filed by her family says Liggans tried to give herself insulin in the booking area but deputies took her insulin away.

Deputies then took her to the ground, handcuffed her, and put her in a cell.

The lawsuit accuses jail staff of not providing insulin to Liggans for at least two days.

She later died on June 2nd.

Her family’s attorney, Dan Smolen, says that in the days leading up to her death, she was showing obvious signs something was wrong.

“Ms. Liggins falls multiple times, hitting her head,” said Smolen. “She's sweating profusely. She is hallucinating. She is unaware of her surroundings. This goes on, not for hours, but for days. It's all documented by jail staff, and much of it is on surveillance video.”

Smolen says those are signs of diabetic ketoacidosis, which happens when a body cannot produce enough insulin to survive.

The State Medical Examiner ruled that was Liggans’ cause of death.

The lawsuit accuses several employees of not intervening when Smolen says it was clear Liggans was having a medical emergency.

He says this settlement is groundbreaking.

“It's also the largest settlement that has been reached for civil rights violation in a jail death in the state of Oklahoma's history,” said Smolen.

He hopes this case shows how important it is that inmates receive proper medical care.

“Until the community realizes that you have to invest money toward that infrastructure, you're going to continue to have to pay multi-million-dollar judgments because people are being tortured to death in your facility,” said Smolen.

News On 6 reached out to the chair of the Wagoner County Commissioners for comment and left several messages but did not hear back.