Tulsa Jail legal woes may burden taxpayers with millions more past $10M Elliott Williams verdict

Legal woes at the Tulsa Jail could end up costing taxpayers millions more beyond a $10 million verdict issued against the Sheriff’s Office earlier this week in the Elliott Williams jury trial.

Defense attorney invoices to the county in the Williams case and in two other adjudicated lawsuits total at least $524,000 thus far, while plaintiff attorneys have billed the county another $659,000 in fees (plus costs) in a case they won in 2016, records show.

Williams’ estate was awarded $10.25 million by a jury on Monday. Williams, 37, died naked and paralyzed on Oct. 27, 2011, after lying on the floor for 51 hours in a cell of the Tulsa Jail’s medical unit following a six-day stay.

The Brewster & De Angelis law firm so far has invoiced the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office $137,000 for defending the case. Dan Smolen, attorney for Williams’ estate, said he hadn’t tallied attorney fees yet. But he said the total, which represents more than five years of litigation, would be in the “millions.”

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