Almost 18 months after a patient died in an emergency room of Kings County Hospital, after allegedly being ignored, the hospital settled a lawsuit over its conditions.

The agreement, which was announced Friday, calls for a federal judge to monitor conditions at the Brooklyn facility for five years.

The New York Civil Liberties Union's lawsuit had claimed the hospital's psychiatric inpatient units are overcrowded and unsanitary and that patients are ignored and abused.

The hospital came under scrutiny after a patient collapsed and died in their psychiatric emergency room in June 2008.

Esmin Green, 49, was allegedly ignored by employees and security guards for 24 hours, even as she went into convulsions.

Though some reforms have already been made, the NYCLU says there's a long road ahead for Kings County Hospital.

"This process is going to be long and fraught with difficulties because what these documents seek to do is nothing less than the total transformation of an institution," said NYCLU attorney Rob Cohen.

"We will be there monitoring every step of the way, as will all the parties to the litigation to ensure that the reforms are executed, conditions improve -- and the bottom line -- patients receive the care the are entitled to expect," said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman.

The Health and Hospitals Corporation says Kings County Hospital has already taken steps to relieve overcrowding, improve staffing levels and reduce the average length of time patients stay in the psychiatric emergency room.

Additional plans for reform include improving services for patients with developmental disabilities, strengthening chronic disease care and providing support for patients transitioning back into the community.