FRANKLIN COUNTY, Wash. – Franklin County Board of Commissioners has agreed to settle a lawsuit with the Estate of Faviola Valenzuela for $2.5 million, stemming from her death in the Franklin County Jail.
Faviola Valenzuela, 42, from Othello, was booked into the jail on March 12, 2022 on property damage charges. She was placed in an observation cell.
On March 15, another inmate alerted jail officials to a medical issue Valenzuela was experiencing. She was found dead in her cell that day.
County commissioners decided in their March 5, 2025 meeting to approve the settlement made through the county’s insurance risk pool. The county will cover a $25,000 deductible.
“That’s why we deal with risk pool. Because we have a $25,000 deductible which saves the county a lot of money, so I think this was a good move,” Commissioner Clint Didier said during the meeting, referring to the Washington Counties Risk Pool (WCRP), an association established in 1988 to support counties across the state.
It provides comprehensive and economic risk coverage, reduces the frequency and severity of losses, and decreases costs associated with managing and litigating claims.
