Metro

Court overturns tossed suit by kin of dead asthmatic Rikers inmate

A Manhattan appeals court ruled that Rikers Island correction officers may have caused the death of an asthmatic inmate by failing to get the 46-year-old to a doctor.

In a unanimous ruling, the five-judge panel said a Bronx jurist erred in tossing the bulk of the family’s 2003 wrongful-death case against the city.

Staten Island resident Eva Luckey was at Rikers in April 2002 on a petit-larceny charge because she couldn’t make the $500 bail, according to court papers.

The pack-a-day smoker had asked to see a doctor on April 23 and then complained that she was having an asthma attack on April 24. But it was not until April 25 at 4 p.m. when a correction officer finally called for an escort to the sick ward. At 4:24 p.m., Luckey was unresponsive. She died that night.

“If they had done anything, she’d still be alive today,” said lawyer Richard Gross, who represents the family.

A city Law Department spokesman declined to comment.