City lawyers have agreed to pay nearly $5.2 million to settle lawsuits brought by the families of two men who died from methadone overdoses while jail staff ignored them on Rikers Island.
The settlements come amid a sharp rise in claims and a dramatic spike in taxpayer-funded payouts by the Department of Correction.
In fiscal year 2024, the city logged 7,254 claims, up from 4,580 the previous year and eclipsing prior highs, according to data from the city comptroller’s office. Payouts ballooned to about $254 million, up from roughly $43 million in 2023. The reasons for the massive increase weren’t clear.
Jose Mejia Martinez, 34, was neglected by multiple correction officers for more than three hours as he suffered a fatal overdose in a housing unit at the George R. Vierno Center on June 10, 2021, according to a lawsuit filed by his estate. The city agreed to pay $2.7 million to resolve the claims.
The other case involved Donny Ruben Ubiera, 33, who died from a similar overdose at the same facility on Aug. 22, 2023. The city settled that lawsuit for $2.4 million last Friday.
Both men appeared to overdose on methadone that had been administered to other detainees as part of their addiction treatment, according to jail sources familiar with reviews of the two deaths. Some incarcerated people will “cheek” doses of methadone administered by Correctional Health Services — hiding the medication in their mouths — and later spit it out to sell or trade, according to multiple jail insiders.
Methadone is a long-acting opioid medication used to treat addiction by reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings — but it can be fatal if taken in large quantities.
“These settlements reflect the devastating consequences of a correctional system that repeatedly failed two vulnerable men in its custody,” said Julia Kuan, a lawyer at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, the firm that filed the lawsuits.
Martinez had been held after violating his parole by allegedly stealing a can of beer and had a history of substance use and mental health disorders, according to the lawsuit. He obtained methadone from another detainee and ingested it in a housing unit dayroom, a common area that should have been under supervision.
Soon, Martinez began staggering through the unit, struggling to remain upright and leaning against a stairwell railing while appearing severely intoxicated for more than 40 minutes, the lawsuit alleged. At one point, a correction officer walked past him without intervening as he slumped over the railing.
Other detainees helped Martinez back to his cell. Over the next several hours, officers looked into his cell multiple times as he lay incapacitated but did not call for medical assistance.
A medical emergency was declared only after another detainee found Martinez unresponsive and alerted staff, according to the lawsuit by Martinez’ family. By the time medics arrived, he was already dead — and showing signs of rigor mortis.
In a 29-page report issued in January 2025, the state Attorney General’s Office found that a correction officer had failed to fulfill his duty to obtain medical care, despite rules and training requiring him to do so.
Ubiera, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, had previously received treatment at a state psychiatric center because he was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial before being returned to Rikers Island, jail records show.
According to the complaint, his mental health deteriorated in a mental observation unit, where he repeatedly attempted to harm himself in front of staff and told officers he wanted to die.
The lawsuit alleges that on the night before his death, Ubiera ingested methadone in view of correction officers and later banged on his cell door and called for help for hours without a response.
Surveillance footage cited in the complaint shows officers had missed routine rounds. Ubiera was found unresponsive the next morning and, while officers began CPR, Narcan was not immediately available in the housing area.
By the time it was retrieved from another unit, several minutes had passed. Ubiera was pronounced dead later that day.
A spokesperson for the city’s Law Department declined to comment.
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