ST. PAUL — A jury has awarded $590,600 to a former Ramsey County inmate who became gravely ill with tuberculosis in custody.

A federal jury determined Monday that public health nurse Mary Clausen was “deliberately indifferent” to the plight of Marchello McCaster, who lost 44 pounds while serving a 56-day sentence in 2008.

McCaster was coughing and visibly ill, but the county contended he never complained of symptoms indicating TB.

His attorney, Robert Bennett, said the award is half for compensation and half for punitive damages. He said the county will cover it because the nurse was a county employee. Ramsey County settled an earlier lawsuit by inmates exposed to McCaster’s TB for about $16 million.