A correctional facility doctor working with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department has been charged in connection with the death of an inmate who died in 2019 at the Las Colinas Detention and Re-Entry Facility in Santee, the SDSO said Wednesday.
Dr. Friederike Von Lintig is the second correctional facility worker to face involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the death of 24-year-old Elisa Serna on Nov. 11, 2019. She pleaded not guilty to the charges in court on Wednesday. A nurse, Danalee Pascua, was charged in 2021. Both defendants face up to four years in prison if convicted.
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According to the District Attorney's Office, Serna complained she was dizzy and nauseous before she was moved to the Las Colinas jail's Medical Observation Unit.
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In a March 2020 press release regarding the death, the sheriff's department said Serna died from complications of drug abuse, with a contributing factor of early intrauterine pregnancy.
Von Lintig was the doctor-on-duty but the circumstances surrounding her role are unclear. it is not immediately known if she was present when Serna collapsed and the DA's office only said "the additional evidence developed in this case demonstrates that criminal negligence by this physician contributed to the inmate's death."
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said Von Lintig was contracted through Coastal Hospitalist Medical Associates and later by Correctional Healthcare Partners, Inc. NBC 7 was reaching out to the two healthcare facilities but has not yet heard back.
The SDSO said in a statement: "We support the District Attorney’s decision to file criminal charges in this case, which centers around the actions and decisions of individuals who were entrusted with the care of Ms. Serna. Those actions do not reflect the values or obligation of the Sheriff's Department to keep people safe when they are in our custody."
Von Lintig was not listed in jail custody, according to SDSO records. She was next expected in court in 2023.
Von Lintig graduated in 1994 and had an active California medical license through the end of November, according to the state Department of Consumer Affairs. She is listed on the U.S. News and World Report website as having more than 20 years of experience as an internal medicine doctor in San Diego and did her residency at the UC San Diego Medical Center in the early 2000s.
Pascua was with Serna when the inmate collapsed, the DA's Office said, adding that after the fall, Pascua did not take Serna's vitals and did not move her. Instead, prosecutors say she left Serna on the ground in the cell until about an hour later, when she and deputies returned to begin "futile lifesaving measures."
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said Pascua was immediately placed on administrative duty and did not have any further contact with patients. She was suspended after an internal investigation and following her arrest in 2021, the department said.
After Pascua was charged, the DA's Office said an additional investigation followed, as well as analysis from experts, including the Medical Board of California, which led to the recent charges against Von Lintig.
Serna's death is also the subject of a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed against the county last year by Serna's family, who alleged jail staff were aware of Serna's substance abuse and subsequent withdrawal symptoms, but did not provide her with treatment.
Though Serna was fainting, had low blood pressure, was vomiting regularly and displaying odd and incoherent behavior, jail staff "ignored the obvious signs of medical distress" and "failed to provide proper medication as Elisa's condition was worsening," the complaint alleges.
"People treat their dogs better than the way our sheriff’s department and the nursing department of our county jails system treated my daughter," Michael Serna said.
The family's attorney claims Serna became severely dehydrated several days after she was arrested and was then placed in a medical observation unit where she began seizing, hit her head and slumped to the ground -- all of it in front of a nurse and deputy.
