A man from Toledo was booked at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio. He was addicted to heroin, and he began going into withdrawal after he was locked up. Eventually, the symptoms got so bad that he passed away.
Now, that man’s family has started a lawsuit against the corrections center and the medical care provider that works at the jail. They are seeking $12.5 million.
The whole thing happened back in 2014. The man was arrested and booked on the 20th of December. He was 26 years old. When he was booked, he was honest with the staff, telling them about his addiction and saying he’d used the drugs in the previous 24 hours.
The lawsuit claims that the man’s symptoms started to show up on the 20th. Over the next three days, they grew steadily worse. Symptoms included diarrhea, vomiting, general weakness, and looking unsteady when walking.
The center does have an opiate withdrawal protocol, and the lawsuit acknowledges that they started using it, but then it claims the medical staff did not keep providing ordinary and reasonable care. By the 23rd, the man had to be taken to the Community Hospital of Williams County, where he died.
He left behind three children. One was just a few months old at the time of his death.
Everyone has a right to reasonable levels of medical care, even if they’ve been arrested and admitted to crimes. This responsibility doesn’t end simply because they broke the law. When staff members are negligent in providing the proper care and someone dies, family members must know what rights they have to compensation.
Source: The Blade, “Family of man who died in jail files suit,” Jennifer Feehan, Nov. 26, 2016