Family can sue in woman's McHenry County jail death

An appeal court has ruled the family of a woman who committed suicide in a McHenry County Jail can sue the county's former health contractor and a social worker.

Algerian asylum seeker Hassiba Belbachir hanged herself on March 17, 2005. Three days before her death, the 27-year-old Belbachir told social worker Vicki Frederick she'd “rather die than live like this.” Frederick didn't put the woman on suicide watch.

The U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled Frederick and the county's former health contractor Centegra must face a civil trial.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports Chief Judge Richard Posner said Belbachir deserved extra care because she was an immigration detainee who had not been charged with a crime.

Attorneys for Frederick, Centegra and McHenry County didn't respond to requests for comment.