An intellectually disabled woman who spent weeks in the ICU after a stint in the Tarrant County Jail is the subject of the latest lawsuit against the county and its jail system.
Kelly Masten has a severe form of epilepsy and experiences daily seizures, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday. Masten’s sister and guardian, Kristina Salinas, is suing on Masten’s behalf.
Due to Masten’s condition, her brain “has not developed beyond roughly that of a four-year-old or a five-year-old,” according to the lawsuit.
After a week and a half behind bars, Masten was covered in bruises and had to be placed in a medically induced coma at John Peter Smith Hospital because the jail allowed her to seize and fall repeatedly in a concrete-and-metal cell, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit argues authorities knew of Masten’s condition from the moment of her arrest.
“Repeated pleas and explanations of Kelly’s rare medical condition and developmental disability were met with a response, ‘Don't worry. We will get her to JPS within a few hours,’” the lawsuit states. “That did not happen.”
In 2022, Masten bit her grandmother during a dinnertime tantrum, and her grandmother called 911 to get medical help for Masten. Instead, police cuffed Masten and took her to jail, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit describes a week and a half where Masten suffered multiple seizures and injuries. One morning, medical personnel found her on the floor with “blood on her face and a laceration to her lip."
Masten’s family told staff about her illness multiple times, but she was never moved to a padded cell or cared for properly, the lawsuit argues.
When a visitor came to see Masten in jail, they were so shocked by her injuries they “began banging on the observation room glass, asking, ‘What the [expletive] happened to you?’” the lawsuit states.
When Masten went to the hospital, Sheriff’s Office investigators photographed her extensive bruising and noted she smelled like urine, according to the lawsuit. Her hair was so matted it had to be shaved.
Salinas wrote about her shock over her sister's condition in an op-ed for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"When I finally saw Kelly, my knees buckled. My screams brought hospital security running to us," she wrote. "She looked like two grown men had repeatedly beaten her."
Doctors placed Masten in a medically induced coma for eight weeks, with no one expecting her to survive, although she did, according to the lawsuit.
KERA News reached out to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
"As this is an open lawsuit, we are not commenting and I’ll refer you to the District Attorney’s Office," Sheriff's Office spokesperson Robbie Hoy said in an email.
Tarrant County has paid out at least $1.6 million in settlements in recent years over deaths and alleged neglect in the jail, with more cases pending.
In September, the county agreed to pay $1 million to the family of Javonte Myers, who died of a seizure disorder in his cell in 2020. Two jailers lied about checking on Myers, according to law enforcement. They face criminal charges.
A lawsuit from the mother of Chasity Congious is in settlement talks, court documents show. Congious, who is intellectually disabled, gave birth alone in her cell in 2020, and her baby died 10 days later.
Police brought Congious back to jail last week while responding to her mental health crisis.
Salinas’ lawsuit on behalf of Masten seeks compensation for Masten’s physical and mental pain and anguish, as well as any past and future medical expenses.
This story has been updated with comment from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.
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