NEW YORK, United States (CMC) -- Law enforcement officials in the Brooklyn District have charged a hospital worker here with falsifying records in the case of a Jamaican psychiatric patient who died on a waiting room floor nearly 24 hours after arriving in an ambulance.

The indictment alleges that a psychiatric technician at the sprawling Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, Easton Royal, 53, falsified records to erroneously indicate that he had been checking in on patients.

Esmin Green, 49, died in the waiting room at the New York City-run psychiatric facility in 2008.

Royal's indictment includes two counts of "falsifying business records in the first degree", and one count each of "offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree" and "reckless endangerment in the first degree".

If convicted, district attorney Charley J Hynes said, Royal faces a maximum of 11 years in prison.

A security video released by the New York Civil Liberties Union and other lawyers showed Green collapsing to the floor and lying there while workers ignored her. The medical examiner found that Green died of blood clots.

A lawyer for Green's family, Sanford Rubenstein, said they welcomed the criminal charges.

"The family believes that anyone who was involved in the cover-up or the wrongful death of Esmin Green should be held accountable criminally so that what happened to Esmin Green does not happen to anyone else," he said.

"They look forward to justice being done with this case," he added.

Family members, most of whom currently live in Jamaica, settled with New York City for U$2 million in 2009.

Adele Flateau, a spokeswoman for Kings County Hospital Center, said Royal was suspended.

"The Kings County Hospital psychiatric programme staff have worked tirelessly since the death of Ms Green and have made major improvements and reforms that have turned around and brought stability to the programme," she said, citing a change in clinical leadership and a policy review.