Family Files Medical Malpractice Lawsuit After Inmate Dies

Attacks and stabbings can happen anywhere — even while in jail. But when a person is injured, they should receive the best care possible, regardless of their incarceration status.

In December 2021, a man was attacked while incarcerated at the Essex County Correctional Facility. The 27-year-old man from Elizabeth was stabbed repeatedly by a 26-year-old man from Carteret.

Authorities found him unresponsive the next day. He was in a jail cell surrounded by blood-stained towels, with no pulse. He died an hour later.

The man’s death is now the subject of a civil rights lawsuit that was filed in mid-October in New Jersey’s Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that the jail and its officers did not do enough to protect the man from a violent inmate who attacked him multiple times. The lawsuit is also accusing Essex County’s medical provider of failing to care for the man after he was stabbed, leading to his death. The family’s attorney alleges that the man was executed and made to suffer a slow, agonizing death over the course of hours, alone in his jail cell.

According to the lawsuit, the Union County jail should have known that the murderer was a threat to the man’s safety and did not ensure that the two men were separated. The lawsuit names multiple defendants., including Union County, Essex County, jail leadership, and CFG Health Systems. It alleges unsafe confinement conditions, failure to provide medical care, and medical malpractice. The lawsuit also claims that Essex County officials should have been aware of the violence in jail and did not do enough to rectify the situation.

The man was originally held at the Union County jail for weapons charges in August 2020. He was later transferred to the Essex County facility. The man’s murderer was also taken to the Union County jail after killing the man’s friend. The murderer was also transferred to the Essex County jail.

In 2021, the man was involved in five altercations at the jail, with two of them sending him to the emergency room. On December 2, the man was stabbed multiple times by the murderer. The jail’s healthcare provider, CFG Health Systems, treated the man and provided him with wound care before clearing him to return to jail. He was not taken to the hospital or given tests to check for internal injuries.

The next morning, the man was found unresponsive in his jail cell. He was found next to towels drenched in blood. He was taken to University Hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and died an hour later. The man who stabbed him has been charged with murder.

Contact a New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer Today

Even those in jail have rights. When a person is injured in any way, they should not be denied medical care, especially if their injuries are serious in nature.

If you have been sick or injured and not treated properly by medical staff, a Morristown medical malpractice attorney from The Law Offices of Michael P. Burakoff can help. These are complex cases, so don’t handle them on your own. Call (973) 455-1567 or fill out the online form to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

nj.com/news/2022/10/nj-man-died-after-inmate-stabbed-him-because-he-didnt-get-proper-medical-care-suit-alleges.html