Mother of Nevada prisoner reaches $4.6M settlement in lawsuit
The lawyer for the family of a man who died at High Desert State Prison in 2023 said Tuesday that a multimillion-dollar settlement has been reached in a wrongful death lawsuit.
James Urrutia, who represents the family of Christian Walker, who died at the prison about 40 miles northwest of Las Vegas on April 15, 2023, said the state of Nevada agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle the case, which was brought by Walker’s mother, Annette Walker.
A message left for the Nevada Department of Corrections on Tuesday afternoon was not immediately returned.
Walker, 44, died from blunt force trauma to his head, heck, torso, shoulder and legs, according to an autopsy report.
The Clark County coroner’s office determined that the injuries were “not considered fatal” and did not contribute to Walker’s death, which was ruled natural due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
The lawsuit alleged that the director of the Nevada Department of Corrections, James Dzurenda, along with two High Desert wardens, conspired with the Clark County coroner’s office to label Walker’s death as natural rather than caused by injuries from a fatal beating by corrections officers.
Walker was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for the 1997 killing of his 17-year-old girlfriend Maureen McConaha, the Las Vegas Review-Journal previously reported.
“Annette is grateful this part of it is over and she feels this brings some piece of justice,” Urrutia said.
News of the settlement comes as department officials continue to face questions about recent inmate deaths at High Desert and other department facilities.
From July 16 through Aug. 17, three inmate deaths at High Desert have been labeled as suspected homicides by department officials.
At least five inmates under the age of 40, including the suspected homicide victims, have died at High Desert during the same period.
Urrutia said Annette Walker is hopeful that the settlement announced Tuesday might help other families in other possible legal endeavors against the state. The matter was scheduled to go to trial in February.
“The (Nevada) Legislature really needs to get involved at this point,” Urrutia said. “Based on our data, jury verdicts are going to be very large. The state was smart and was able to settle this with my client before a possible jury verdict, but the Legislature needs to get involved unless they want to have some really big verdicts against the state here in the near future.”
The settlement agreement, Urrutia said, resolves the state’s liability, while legal action against Clark County is expected to continue in the matter.
“This case has always been about more than just compensation — it has been about accountability and the value of human life,” Urrutia said. “All my client has sought is justice for her son. We are grateful that this part of the case is behind us and that we can now focus our efforts on Clark County.”
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.