POCATELLO (AP) - A jury is considering a $23 million lawsuit filed by a former inmate of the Pocatello Women's Correctional Center who says she was denied proper health care and ended up giving birth on a concrete ramp after being left in a holding room for 10 hours.

The lawsuit alleges that Prison Health Services Inc., which formerly oversaw and staffed the Idaho Department of Correction's medical services, failed to properly diagnose Jamie A. Lysager, and that she was denied proper health care leading up to the Feb. 14, 2004, birth of her son.

The lawsuit contends the birth occurred while she was being moved in a wheelchair, and that her son, Taylor, "fell from her body and the wheelchair, landing on the back of his head on the concrete ramp."

It alleges the wheelchair then ran over Taylor and "that the umbilical cord and a portion of the placenta were ripped from plaintiff."

Taylor spent two months in a hospital. Now 4 years old, the complaint says that he has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

The jury began deliberating Wednesday. Lysager is seeking $3 million for pain and suffering and for her son's future economic needs. She's seeking $20 million in punitive damages.

Lysager entered the correctional facility on Dec. 11, 2003, after violating her probation. She had pleaded guilty earlier that year in 7th District Court to fraudulently possessing a financial transaction card, and was sentenced in June 2003 to up to five years in prison.

Lysager was told to expect her child on April 4, 2004. On Feb. 3, she told medical staff she had flu-like symptoms and diarrhea. The lawsuit contends the medical staff failed to treat her for the next 10 days.

Lysager's attorney, Richard Hearn, told the jury before it began deliberations that Prison Health Services violated its own policies by not transporting Lysager to the hospital when she began having medical problems.

According to the lawsuit, Lysager, at 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 14, told medical staff she was suffering from dehydration, diarrhea and stomach cramps. She was given an ultrasound to monitor the baby's condition.

Then, after 10 hours in a holding cell, the suit said, she began screaming and kicking the locked door to get the staff's attention, and at 5 p.m. began giving birth while on the toilet.

Attorney Joseph McCollum Jr., representing Prison Health Services, said Lysager was likely suffering from an inflammatory condition of the uterus that can cause a premature delivery without labor, contributing to physical and cognitive problems in children.

He said that even if Taylor had been born in a hospital, the physical challenges he faces might not have been different.

He said the medical staff thought they were treating Lysager for flu symptoms, not a possible early delivery. Though he said the staff didn't follow proper procedures, they didn't act with malice or willful disregard.