12/29/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, US // Sandra Quinlan // Sandra Quinlan
Warren, OH—Trumbull County, along with a sheriff’s deputy and the county jail’s medical director, was named in a federal lawsuit, filed in connection with a tasing incident that left an inmate dead last year. According to a Dec. 27, 2010 Vindy report, the lawsuit accuses the defendants of civil rights violations, medical malpractice, and wrongful death.
Joan Padula, mother of Kurt Platzer, filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming her son suffered at least four seizures while jailed in June 2009.
Padula contended the seizures were caused by advanced alcohol withdrawal, though he was not treated or taken to the hospital for the condition.
Platzer apparently became delusional on his second day of incarceration, banging his head against the cell wall. The lawsuit notes that a coroner’s report confirmed Platzer suffered a fractured skull during the outburst.
Nonetheless, on Platzer’s third day of incarceration, he apparently refused to cooperate with corrections officers and was subsequently tased.
Platzer became unresponsive and stopped breathing three hours later. He was rushed to St. Joseph Health Center, where he was pronounced dead.
According to the wrongful death attorney representing Padula in the case, “To be [Tasered] while in custody is completely unreasonable… There were multiple people on hand who should have managed the situation.”
The lawsuit claims excessive force and the jail staff’s alleged failure to provide proper medical treatment constituted civil rights violations.
Also, the suit alleges Dr. Malvasi, the Trumbull County jail’s medical director and physician, never evaluated Platzer, nor did he prescribe any treatment or send him to the hospital for his seizures.
The pending litigation accuses Malvasi, who would not comment on the case, of medical malpractice. His medical assistants were accused of negligence as well.
The suit seeks unspecified punitive and non-economic damages.
Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan– Legal News for Ohio Wrongful Death Lawyers.
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