LOS ANGELES -- The family of a woman who died at a now-closed Los Angeles hospital as police tried to get her into a patrol car is suing Los Angeles County for $45 million.

The lawsuit filed by the three adult children of Edith Rodriguez claims staff at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital allowed her to lie on the emergency room floor for 45 minutes, vomiting and in pain. Police then arrested her on an outstanding warrant, the Los Angeles Times reports.

"She was a human being, and they treated her like an animal," said Franklin Casco Jr., who is representing the children. "She could have been saved."

In court papers, Casco said Rodriguez went to the emergency room complaining of pain. She was given painkillers and sent home, but instead of leaving she collapsed on the floor.

The coroner found she had a perforated bowel.

Copyright © 2007, by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.