TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Internal Review Finds No Fault With Staff In Death Of Inmate

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 17, 2008

Updated: 07/17/2008 03:28 pm

LARGO - An internal review has found no wrongdoing by jail staff in the death of Dorothy Palinchik, the Pinellas County Jail inmate who died of pneumonia brought on by a staph infection.

A detention sergeant, however, was disciplined after it was learned she mishandled a form submitted by inmates who wanted Palinchik moved out of their area because of her deteriorating condition, according to an internal affairs file on the case released this morning.

Palinchik, 42, eventually was transferred from the jail to the Largo Medical Center, where she died in late February.

Though the documents released today give no evidence of staff action or inaction bringing about Palinchik's demise, they provide the most detailed chronology released yet of what happened to her.

According to the documents:

Palinchik was arrested Feb. 13 on charges she stole a $9.20 Philly steak sandwich from a Publix supermarket in downtown St. Petersburg. She was stopped after someone saw her walk through a checkout that wasn't staffed, and she was told to pay for the sandwich she was carrying. She said she didn't have any money and was arrested and transported to jail.

Three days later, she filled out a form saying she felt pressure on her bladder and had to urinate constantly. She had complained of the same symptoms during a previous stay at the jail. This time, Palinchik was put on a sick-call list, and medical staff members said they would give her Motrin for pain.

Two days later, Palinchik submitted another form, this one saying her ears were popping, she had difficulty breathing and had cold sweats. Staff members noted they would have her undergo a three-day upper-respiratory protocol, which is a course of medication.

Three days after that, Palinchik complained of a runny nose, nasal congestion, a sore throat, lack of sleep and a slightly elevated temperature, the documents state. That same day, she was visited by her boyfriend, Michael Mulligan.

Mulligan later told a detective she appeared so sick during the visit, she put her head on a table and seemed unable to lift her head. He reported that Palinchik told him she had a temperature of 101 1/2 degrees and all she received was one Motrin.

By the next day – Feb. 22 – her temperature was 103 degrees, the documents state. She was vomiting and had diarrhea, and her respiratory system was producing yellow sputum. The medical staff began an intravenous treatment about 12:30 p.m., and she was transferred to the jail's health care facility at 3:23 p.m.

One of the female inmates in the medical wing was Rhonda Kryzak, 47. She told investigators that Palinchik displayed flulike symptoms when she was brought in. Palinchik was sweating and incoherent, and the other inmates tried to make her as comfortable as possible, bringing her cold rags for her head because she appeared to have a fever.

A short time later, Kryzak said, Palinchik began throwing up in a pail or bowl, and it looked as though she was throwing up blood.

Another inmate, Tara Aiton, 27, told investigators the female inmates told detention deputies twice of Palinchik's condition, but no one came.

Soon the inmates grew concerned that they would catch whatever was afflicting Palinchik, so they filled out a form requesting that Palinchik be moved for her own well-being and that of the other inmates.

A detention sergeant, Annette Perez-Ford, took the form, immediately tore it up and threw it away, Aiton told investigators.

Policy requires that staff members sign any such form they receive, noting their payroll number and the date and time. Also, the inmate who fills out the form is supposed to get a copy. Perez-Ford did none of these things and, as a result, was counseled.

"It should be noted the error by Sgt. Perez-Ford did not have a direct cause to Palinchik's death, nor did it result in Palinchik not receiving adequate medical treatment," the internal affairs case states. "No other issues presented themselves" during a probe into Palinchik's death, the file states.

Roughly two hours after the inmates asked that Palinchik be moved, the medical staff arrived, evaluated her and decided she needed to be hospitalized. Her temperature by then was 104 or 105 degrees, depending on various accounts, the documents state.

She died six days later at Largo Medical Center.

The Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office has said Palinchik had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA; it is a type of staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics. The MRSA brought on the pneumonia that killed her, the office has said.

Most of the MRSA seen at the jail is wound-related, said Pinellas sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha, but Palinchik "had no wounds when she came to the jail, nor did she have any surface wounds during her time with us."

As part of the investigation, detectives got copies of all telephone calls Palinchik had made to her boyfriend and mother.

She told her boyfriend she was on probation for an earlier theft when she stole the sandwich from Publix and that she expected she had violated that probation. He suggested that she stay in jail because she would end up there again anyway.

The transcripts of the calls also show Palinchik asked her mother to post the $250 bail for the petty theft charge. "The mother tells Dorothy to stay in jail and serve her time as 'enough is enough,' " the internal affairs case states.

In a call placed Feb. 20 – two days before she was transferred to the hospital – Palinchik told her mother, "I'm sick and dying," the internal affairs investigation states.

Palinchik's mother does not respond.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT