Minneapolis-based law firm Robins Kaplan LLP has accepted a $2 million offer of judgment for client Jessica Allen, following her daughter Lacey Higdem’s death nine hours after being admitted to the Rolette County Jail in Rolla, North Dakota. Rolette County made the offer on behalf of itself and two of its former correctional officers.
On June 3, 2020, Ms. Higdem was found hallucinating and distressed in the woods by law enforcement. She was under the influence of methamphetamine and after being medically cleared at a hospital, she was booked into the Jail.
From there, Ms. Higdem, who was an otherwise healthy 19-year-old woman, experienced worsening effects of the drug. Jail video shows she was exhibiting signs of someone who needed urgent medical attention, but no action was taken by correctional authorities. Ms. Higdem struggled to stand on her own, hit her head on the wall, talked to people who weren’t there, scratched her legs raw, and urinated on herself.
Correctional officers did not seek medical care for Ms. Higdem, despite other inmates repeatedly pressing the “emergency” button out of concern. Instead, court documents allege the two officers watched TV in the control room and engaged in intimate contact with each other. After midnight, when one officer finally checked on her, Ms. Higdem was unresponsive. Instead of giving CPR per his training, the officer left Ms. Higdem alone to find someone else to give CPR and called his boss, Sheriff Nathan Gustafson, before alerting an ambulance. Ms. Higdem was pronounced dead at 12:42 a.m.
Following Ms. Higdem’s death, Sheriff Gustafson issued a public statement primarily blaming the incident on an “overwhelming drug problem.” He never disciplined the correctional officers for their failings that night. The Jail also had a history of rule violations relating to inmate life and safety under Sheriff Gustafson’s watch that were not fixed prior to Ms. Higdem’s admission.
“My daughter Lacey was only 19 years old when she passed away. She was scared, vulnerable, and needed help. Instead, she was ignored and left to die. These two correctional officers mocked Lacey instead of helping her. No mother should have to live with the pain of knowing her child suffered alone when she could have been saved,” said Jessica Allen.
Robins Kaplan LLP partner and lead counsel Andrew Noel added, “Lacey’s death is not just a local tragedy—it’s a symptom of a nationwide crisis across U.S. jails. People should not be left to suffer and die in a cell due to neglect and indifference. If we allow stories like Lacey’s to be ignored, we risk reinforcing a system where human life is treated as disposable. We hope this case serves as a stark reminder that greater accountability, stronger oversight, and reform of the correctional healthcare system is needed so the sanctity of life prevails over complacency and contempt.”
“The work in this case by Robins Kaplan LLP’s civil rights group is simply ground-breaking for North Dakota,” said Robins Kaplan partner Tim Purdon. Purdon, who is the managing partner of the firm’s Bismarck, North Dakota office added, “I have been practicing law in North Dakota for nearly 30 years and this will be the largest jail death judgment in North Dakota that I am aware of.”
This comes after Robins Kaplan’s civil rights team previously obtained the largest known civil rights settlement in North Dakota back in 2023 against an organization following the suicide of a minor for $2.9 million.
The civil rights team representing Ms. Allen includes Andrew Noel, Marc Betinsky, Julie Moroney, and Tim Purdon.
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