An autopsy cited in a report found Flaherty died from dehydration and ketoacidosis due to opiate withdrawal.
KENT, Wash. — The estate of Rena Flaherty alleges in a federal lawsuit that the City of Kent and its jail medical provider failed to treat her opioid withdrawal before she died in a Kent jail cell in April 2025.
The complaint, filed May 8 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, names the City of Kent, Healthcare Delivery Systems, and HDS CEO Shannon Slack as defendants.
Flaherty was booked into the City of Kent Corrections Facility on misdemeanor warrants on April 19, 2025, according to the lawsuit and an Unexpected Fatality Review Committee Report. The report was prepared by the Kent Police Department Corrections Division and filed with the state on August 15, 2025.
The complaint and report say she told booking staff she used fentanyl and was “currently” experiencing withdrawal.
The lawsuit alleges Flaherty was not evaluated by HDS until about 18 hours after she was booked. However, between 9:30 a.m. on April 20 and 2:30 p.m., the report says she was asked “several times” if she wanted to go to medical and failed to go.
According to the report, at 2:30 p.m. she was escorted to a holding cell for closer observation because she was vomiting, according to the complaint, with medical staff finally assessing her at 4:05 p.m.
The lawsuit alleges staff did not call 911 or contact medical staff despite seeing black vomit, instability, weakness and labored breathing in her cell.
When she was assessed, the complaint says, she scored 17 on an opioid withdrawal scale, above the threshold of 8 that calls for buprenorphine under federal guidelines.
The complaint alleges Flaherty never received buprenorphine while in custody.
The city’s report says she was given medications for pain, nausea and diarrhea, as well as Gatorade.
The lawsuit says corrections staff later found her on the floor of her cell, covered in vomit and too weak to walk.
Early on April 22, the complaint says Flaherty was offered a shower but was too weak to wash herself. The report says she “changed her mind” about showering. She was then returned to her holding cell at 6:37 a.m.
The lawsuit alleges corrections officers later walked past Flaherty’s cell multiple times while she was lying face down and unmoving as black liquid spread across the floor. The report says she was checked only at 7:36 a.m.
Jail staff checked on her at 8:06 a.m., according to the complaint and report, and paramedics pronounced her dead at 8:43 a.m.
An autopsy cited in the report found Flaherty died from dehydration and ketoacidosis due to opiate withdrawal.
The estate brings federal civil rights claims alleging deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, along with state claims for negligence and medical negligence.
The lawsuit asks for a jury trial, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief.
When reached for comment, the City of Kent sent KING 5 the following statement:
The death of a loved one is tragic. The City recognizes how painful and difficult this must be for Ms. Flaherty’s family, and the City extends its sincere condolences. Because litigation is actively pending, the City is unable to comment on the specific allegations set forth within the complaint or the details surrounding Ms. Flaherty’s death.
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