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Prisoner Suicide
Monthly Law Journal Article: Civil Liability for Prisoner Suicide, 2007 (2) AELE Mo. L.J. 301. [Feb. 2007].
Monthly Law Journal Article: Assessing Liability Exposure in Jail Inmate Suicide Cases: Three Questions to Ask. by Dr. Richard Kiekbusch. 2020 (3) AELE Mo. L.J. 301.
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A prisoner with a long history of mental health issues was incarcerated for 13 years for a home invasion. He began to improve while enrolled in a residential treatment program (RTP). He was a Housing Unit Representative on a “Warden’s Forum.” After he brought complaints, a doctor raised his “Global Assessment Functioning score” so that he was now ineligible for the RTP. The prisoner claimed that this action was retaliatory. When he was discharged from the RTP, his condition deteriorated. His care was overseen by the unit chief of the outpatient mental-health program, a psychologist with that program, and a private doctor. The prisoner then had had homicidal thoughts and engaged in self-injury, ultimately attempting suicide. He was transferred to a Crisis Stabilization Program, with the doctors saying that they could not transfer him to “Mars.” He sued the three doctors for deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. He claimed that, after his suicide attempt, he was restrained, and a sergeant told him, in response to a bathroom break, to “hold it,” and that he was going to “stay just like that until [his] mental illness goes away.” He was allegedly left laying in his own urine and feces for several hours. A federal appeals court upheld the denial of qualified immunity to all the defendants. The plaintiff prisoner, the court found, produced sufficient evidence to show violations of clearly established constitutional rights. Berkshire v. Dahl, #17-2039, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 19482, 2019 Fed. App. 0139P (6th Cir.). A detainee died by committing suicide in his jail cell. A lawsuit by his estate and surviving family claimed that there were violations of the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause in the time leading up to, and immediately following his suicide. In this case, the detainee had a camera in his cell that was supposed to be monitored by police department employees, but he had obscured the camera’s lens and hanged himself without any employee noticing on the camera monitors. A federal appeals court upheld the grant of summary judgment to the defendant city and ruled that the plaintiff failed to set forth evidence by which the various police department employees’ actions might reasonably be attributed to the city. Therefore, the city was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The fact that officers were occupied, close to the time of the suicide in installing some signs, one of which said essentially “welcome” to the jail, and therefore may have neglected monitoring the detainee, was too nebulous to amount to an official rule or restriction, and the signs did not operate as a continuing burden on inmate life in the way that dangerously high temperatures or overcrowded cells did. The “episodic” acts or omissions of the arresting officer or the senior officers who performed CPR could not be attributed to the city where the estate and survivors did not attribute the actions of the officers to any particular official policy or custom. Garza v. City of Donna, #18-40044, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 12596 (5th Cir.). A federal appeals court upheld the grant of summary judgment to a state correctional officer in a lawsuit claiming that he violated the Eighth Amendment rights of a prisoner who committed suicide. The officer saw that the prisoner was hanging from a noose around his neck with a bedsheet suspended from the ceiling sprinkler head. He could not tell whether the prisoner was actually hanging and in need of medical assistance or was staging suicide to draw officers into the cell for an ambush. Within seconds, he immediately summoned backup and did not enter the cell until seven minutes later, when they found that the prisoner was dead. The court ruled that the officer’s actions did not amount to deliberate indifference where he faithfully adhered to the prison’s operating procedure. Therefore, the court found that the officer did not effectively disregard the known risk that the prisoner might commit suicide. Entering alone would have jeopardized the officer’s personal safety. Arenas v. Calhoun, #18-50194, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 12595 (5th Cir.). A pretrial detainee attempted suicide while in police custody and claimed to have suffered permanent and severe brain damage as a result. He filed a federal civil rights lawsuit saying the defendants violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to be safeguarded from injury, while also raising California state law claims about his right to medical care while in custody. Defendants included the city, the police department, and individual officers. A federal appeals court reversed the trial court’s denial of qualified immunity on the federal civil rights claim against one officer, because it was not clearly established at the time that a reasonable officer would perceive a substantial risk that the plaintiff would imminently attempt suicide. The court also ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to review the denial of summary judgment on the federal civil rights claims against the municipal defendants, because the governmental liability claim was not “inextricably intertwined” with a properly immediately reviewable collateral appeal, as the court’s resolution of the officer’s appeal from the denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity did not “necessarily” resolve the plaintiff’s governmental liability claim. Finally, the court upheld the denial of summary judgment on the state law claims, because a reasonable jury could conclude that the same defendant officer had reason to know that the plaintiff had a serious medical condition and required immediate medical care and that he failed to summon such care in a timely manner. Horton v. City of Santa Maria, #15-56339, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 3313, 2019 WL 405559 (9th Cir.). |
A prisoner suffering from schizoaffective disorder and made multiple suicide attempts filed a federal civil rights lawsuit pro se alleging that prison officials violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment by being deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs, subjecting him to unconstitutional conditions of confinement, and failing to protect him from other inmates. A trial court granted the defendants summary judgment, ruling that the plaintiff could not establish the subjective elements of his claims because the defendants, who were all non-medical officials, appropriately relied on the judgment of medical professionals. A federal appeals court upheld this result. It found that the plaintiff could not show that the defendants possessed a sufficiently culpable state of mind. The record showed that he received regular medical attention from psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental health professionals, and that several of his grievances were subjected to emergency review. He had not presented evidence that his grievances were ignored or mishandled nor was there any indication from his medical records that he was not receiving adequate care. The non-medical officials relied on the medical professionals to provide proper treatment, and there was nothing to give notice to them of a need to intervene. Giles v. Godinez, #15-3077, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 2959, 2019 WL 349423 (7th Cir.).
An 18-year-old man was arrested for a misdemeanor and taken to a city lockup. During their rounds, officers in the lockup asked him screening questions. The arrestee displayed no signs of pain, injury, or infection, did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, showed no signs of withdrawal, and did not seem irrational or despondent. He had not been carrying medication. He refused food. On the afternoon of his second day in the lockup, an officer looked at the video monitor and saw the arrestee hanging from a horizontal bar in his cell. Guards immediately went to the cell, approximately 15 feet away, where the arrestee had used his jeans to hang himself. He was taken to a hospital where he died the next day. His mother sued the city for failing to prevent her son’s death. A federal appeals court upheld summary judgment in favor of the city, noting the lack of evidence that the city was deliberately indifferent to the risk of suicide for detainees held in lockups or that the city’s policies and practices were the cause of the arrestee’s death. Illinois Lockup Standards were in effect at the time of the death. The plaintiff estate focused on the narrow circumstances of the arrestee’s death rather than on official policies or unofficial but wide-spread practices or customs and thus the claims against the city were not adequate for liability Lapre v. City of Chicago, #17-3024, 2018 U.S. App. Lexis 35296 (7th Cir.).
A prisoner suffering from mental illness had a history of trying to commit suicide. He sued, alleging deliberate indifference to his suicidal tendencies and four suicide attempts. The court allowed some claims to proceed, relating to officials’ failure to prevent his self‐harm and failure to obtain medical assistance after self‐harm.The inmate’s unsuccessful motion to recruit a lawyer argued that the issues were complex, that he has serious mental illnesses, a fifth‐grade reading level, little legal knowledge, and extremely limited access—as a segregation inmate—to the law library and witnesses. His unsuccessful motion added that he has a learning disability, had been transferred to a new prison, and did not know where his witness was located. After discovery began, the plaintiff’s third unsuccessful motion noted that another attorney had joined the defense and that he previously relied on other prisoners for assistance but was having difficulty getting help. No attorney was appointed. The prisoner, acting as his own lawyer, failed to hold depositions. The trial court granted the defendants summary judgment. A federal appeals court vacated this ruling. When denying the plaintiff’s third motion, the trial court did not specifically address circumstances that bore on his ability to competently litigate his case. McCaa v. Hamilton, #16-4109, 2018 U.S. App. Lexis 17647 (7th Cir.).
An arrestee was taken to a hospital because of an irregular heartbeat. He tried to escape and stated that he wanted the officers to take his life so that he would not be sent back to prison. He appeared determined to be suicidal. After being treated by psychiatrists and showing improvement, he was released and transported to a city detention facility. Two days later, he was moved to a medical unit, suffering from detoxification from heroin use, congestive heart failure, hypertension, and diabetes. An officer was assigned to monitor the arrestee in his cell via closed-circuit television. She last saw him pacing by the shower area at 9:05 a.m. Within the next 14 minutes, she discovered that he had hanged himself, using his ripped hospital gown. The trial court dismissed federal civil rights claims by his estate. A federal appeals court upheld this result, ruling that the complaint failed to allege that the officer knew that the arrestee presented a suicide risk. There was no claim that any identifiable jail official had knowledge or suspected that the decedent was suicidal or was harming himself. The complaint also failed to allege any constitutional violation arising out of a municipal policy that would expose the city to liability. Whitney v. City of St. Louis, #17-2019, 2018 U.S. App. Lexis 9129 (8th Cir.).
A federal appeals court overturned summary judgment on claims against a psychiatrist and several nurses arising from the plaintiff prisoner’s alleged July 2014 suicide attempt. A genuine dispute existed as to whether the plaintiff attempted suicide on that date, and if he did, whether these defendants responded in a reasonable manner. At the same time, he failed to show that his psychiatric policy preferences were based on constitutional standards, and thus his preferences did not state a claim for a constitutional violation. The court also rejected his claims that the general course of his treatment by the medical defendants amounted to deliberate indifference. Grogan v. Kumar, #15-60678, 873 F.3d 273 (5th Cir. 2017).
A jail nurse interviewing an arrested traffic offender was told that he was “bipolar,” “paranoid,” had “panic attack[s]” and had a history of substance abuse. She noted the need for a mental health evaluation and for a referral for emergency treatment on discharge. He was returned to the general population. He later requested another meeting with the nurse and described himself as anxious, paranoid, tense, unable to sleep, and experiencing “severe rage.” She scheduled him for a later appointment with a nurse specializing in mental health, but the earliest possible appointment was not made because a deputy’s vacation made it difficult. He hung himself in the shower before the appointment was to take place. A federal appeals court upheld denial of qualified immunity to the jail nurse, finding that there was a triable issue of fact as to whether she violated the decedent’s clearly established right to sufficient treatment for a serious medical problem. Bays v. Montmorency County, 874 F.3d 264 (6th Cir. 2017).
A prisoner with substance abuse problems was serving a sentence at a halfway house. After he was discovered in possession of contraband, he was transferred to another facility where he was assessed and assigned to a unit that did not feature extensive or individualized supervision. In his cell, he made a noose from a bed sheet and committed suicide. His mother was given information that was incomplete and inaccurate, stating that her son had died at a different facility, an error repeated on his death certificate. Over two years into her civil-rights suit, her attorney received a previously-undisclosed investigative report that contained statements by fellow inmates about a guard who allegedly refused the prisoner’s requests for psychiatric assistance and urged him to kill himself. Due to a clerical error, the disc containing those disclosures was misfiled, and not accessed until 10 months later. By that time, the complaint, premised on a knew-or-should-have-known theory of vulnerability to suicide, had been partially dismissed. A federal appeals court vacated a denial of a motion for leave to amend the complaint, finding that the denial was an impermissible exercise of discretion. Mullin v. Balicki, #16-2896, 2017 U.S. App. Lexis 22119 (3rd Cir.).
A detainee with a long history of depression and alcoholism successfully committed suicide five days after entering a jail. The officers on duty at the time did not know that he had a high risk of attempting suicide, despite the fact that he had been assessed as having a “maximum risk” of suicide by the intake staff, a nurse and an officer. The intake staff did not, however, initiated the jail’s suicide prevention protocol. A federal appeals court upheld the denial of summary judgment to the defendants. It was clearly established that inmates have the right to be free from deliberate indifference to a known risk of suicide. Estate of Clark v. Walker, #16-3560, 2017 U.S. App. Lexis 13511 (7th Cir.).
A pretrial detainee in a county jail hanged himself in a cell. While he did not die, he suffered brain damage leaving him in a vegetative state. His suicide note stated that he was killing himself because the guards were “fucking” with him by not letting him see crisis counselors. A federal appeals court overturned summary judgment for two guards, after which a jury returned a verdict for both defendants. On further appeal, the court vacated this result. Another inmate stated that in the five days preceding the suicide attempt, the guards ignored the detainee’s requests to see the crisis staff. Three hours after the suicide attempt, a county detective obtained a 25-minute interview with the inmate about the attempt, which was captured on video. The video was erroneously not admitted at trial, even though this testimony was the lynchpin of the plaintiff’s case and the defendants had stipulated to the showing of the video. While the inmate testified at trial, the passage of seven years had dimmed his recollection and his demeanor at trial was notably different from his demeanor in the video. The appeals court stated it had “no assurance” that the deliberate indifference claim “was fairly tried.” Pittman v. Madison County, #16-3291, 2017 U.S. App. Lexis 12659 (7th Cir.).
The family of a pretrial detainee
who committed suicide while in police custody sued an officer, seeking to hold
her liable for the death. A federal appeals court upheld qualified immunity for
the defendant officer. While her actions may not have been "ideal,"
her failure to exercise even greater care to prevent the death did not rise to the
level of deliberate indifference. She took measures to try to prevent the
suicide, including withholding from him the most obvious potential ligature
(thin sheets normally issued), placing him under continuous (although
ultimately imperfect because of a blind spot) video surveillance, and told the
officer who relieved her that the detainee was a suicide risk and should be
observed. Hyatt v. Thomas, #15-10708, 2016 U.S. App. Lexis 20722 (5th Cir.).
A trial court denied a sheriff's
motion seeking summary judgment on a claim that he should be held liable in his
individual and official capacities for a prisoner's suicide because of his
supervisory role. A federal appeals court held that the sheriff was entitled to
qualified immunity on the individual capacity claim, accepting the argument
that there was no clearly establish law in the Tenth Circuit at the time that
he could be held liable for the suicide as a supervisor when the prisoner
denied having any suicidal intent during booking and no jail personnel detected
a basis for referring him for additional mental health screening based on his
interactions with them. As the trial court's denial of summary judgment on the
official capacity claim was not a final ruling, the appeals court declined to
review it. Cox v. Glanz, #14-5022, 800 F.3d 1231 (9th Cir. 2015).
A domestic violence probation violator with a
lengthy history of substance abuse and mental health problems killed himself
while awaiting transportation to another facility. A federal appeals court
ruled that prison administrators in the case were not entitled to qualified
immunity on a claim that inadequate provision of medical care by a private
third party contractor cause the prisoner's suicide. Barkes v. First Corr. Med.
Inc., #12-3074, 766 F.3d 307 (3rd Cir. 2014). The U.S. Supreme Court
unanimously reversed, holding that even if the facility's suicide screening and
prevention procedures had the shortcomings that the plaintiffs alleged, no
precedent in effect on the date of the suicide, November of 2004, would have
made it clear to the defendant officials that they were overseeing a system
that violated the Constitution. Since the defendants were not violating clearly
established law that mandated the proper implementation of adequate suicide
prevention protocols, they were entitled to qualified immunity. Taylor v.
Barkes, #14-939, 2015 U.S. Lexis 3715.
A federal appeals court held that seven
correctional officers sued for liability in the suicide death of a county jail
inmate were entitled to qualified immunity as there was no evidence that any of
them had a subjective knowledge that there was a serious risk that the inmate
would attempt suicide. Liability could only be based on such subjective
knowledge combined with disregard of that known risk. The trial court
previously also granted qualified immunity to three other officers. Jackson v.
West, 14-13282, 2015 U.S. App. Lexis 9202 (11th
Cir.). A domestic violence probation violator with
a lengthy history of substance abuse and mental health problems killed himself
while awaiting transportation to another facility. A federal appeals court
ruled that prison administrators in the case were not entitled to qualified
immunity on a claim that inadequate provision of medical care by a private
third party contractor cause the prisoner's suicide. Barkes v. First Corr. Med.
Inc., 12-3074 2014 U.S. App. Lexis 17261 (3rd Cir.).
A prisoner who engaged in suicide attempts,
fighting, and other disruptive activities allegedly suffered from significant
mental illness. Prison officials repeatedly subjected him to observation
placements and Behavioral Action Plans (BAPs). Summary judgment for the
defendants on claims for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs was upheld,
but the appeals court found that the prisoner had raised genuine issues of
disputed material fact as to whether the imposition of the BAP imposed an
atypical and significant hardship compared to the ordinary incidents of prison
life, without appropriate notice and an opportunity to be heard, in violation
of due process. There was also a genuine issue as to whether the BAP imposed
conditions of confinement denying him the "minimal civilized measures of
life's necessities." Townsend v. Cooper, #12-3620, 2014 U.S. App. Lexis
13776 (7th Cir.).
The estate of a female immigration detainee who
committed suicide in a county jail has settled a federal civil rights lawsuit
over the death for at least $1 million. The defendants were a private medical
group and one of its employees alleged to have acted with deliberate
indifference to the detainee's serious medical needs at the detention center.
In an earlier decision in the case, a federal appeals court found that the
woman should have been placed on suicide watch for her depression. The court
found that there was evidence that could show that one employee of a private
firm providing medical services at the jail had been aware of the detainee's
depressed condition and suicidal thoughts, but failed to take any steps to
prevent her from killing herself. The summary judgment on claims against the
county, the sheriff, the jail's director, and two other employees of the
medical firm was upheld. Belbachir v. McHenry Cnty., #13-1002, 726 F.3d 975
(7th Cir. 2013)."The failure to take a simple, inexpensive, obvious and
indeed prescribed measure to avoid (suicide) is inexcusable." Belbachir v.
County of McHenry, #06-C-1392, U.S. Dist. Court (N.D. Ill.), reported in
Chicago Tribune (April 14, 2014).
During his intake at a facility, a pretrial
detainee said that he had no prior suicide attempts, no thoughts of killing or
injuring himself, and no major medical problems. A number of weeks later, after
he reported suicidal thoughts, he was placed on a 15-minute suicide watch, but
subsequently denied that such thoughts continued, while complaining about
health issues and acting out in an attempt to be housed outside lockdown. On a
night that he was seen crying in his cell, he attempted to hang himself in his
cell. He suffered severe brain damage and disability from the unsuccessful
suicide attempt. The federal appeals court reversed summary judgment as to two
defendants, finding that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to
whether they had been deliberately indifferent to the detainee's risk of
suicide when he allegedly asked to see a crisis intervention person. If true,
there was an obligation to refer the detainee to the person charged, under
prison procedures, with making the definitive assessment of his psychological
condition. Additionally, the county might have vicarious liability for state
law claims arising out of the actions of these defendants. There was no
support, however, for the claim that a doctor and a nurse acted with deliberate
indifference. Pittman v. Cnty. of Madison, #12-3233, 2014 U.S. App. Lexis 4444
(7th Cir.).
A pre-trial detainee at a county jail was deemed
a suicide risk after she said her "life was over." She was required
to remove her clothing and don a suicide prevention suit. Two female deputies
accompanied her to a cell to carry out the clothing change. They said she was
noncompliant, so two male deputies were summoned to assist. She was ultimately
pinned down on the floor and told that if she continued to resist the changing
of her clothing, a Taser would be used. After a Taser was used in the stun mode
for 5 seconds, she straightened her arms so her clothing could be removed. The
excessive force claim was analyzed under a Fourteenth Amendment due process
"shocks the conscience" standard. There were disputed facts mandating
that the defendants not be granted summary judgment as, despite their testimony
that she was flailing and actively resisting, a video of the incident did not
appear to show that and did not contradict her statement that she was compliant
and did not push anyone's hands away. At the time the Taser was used, she was
largely blocked from view by one of the deputies while lying on the floor, so
that it was impossible from the video to determine whether she actively resisted
efforts to remove her clothing before the Taser was applied to her shoulder.
"Viewing these facts in the light most favorable to plaintiff, she was
perhaps uncooperative but not dangerous or threatening, and a question of fact
therefore remains as to whether the use of the Taser was excessive." Smith
v. County of Isabella, #2:12-cv-11333, 2013 U.S. Dist. Lexis 122419 (E.D.
Mich.).
An immigration detainee housed in a county jail
under a contract with the federal government used her socks to strangle herself
to death in her cell after eight days of incarceration. A federal appeals court
found that there was evidence that could show that one employee of a private
firm providing medical services at the jail had been aware of the detainee's
depressed condition and suicidal thoughts, but failed to take any steps to
prevent her from killing herself. The summary judgment on claims against the
county, the sheriff, the jail's director, and two other employees of the
medical firm was upheld. Belbachir v. McHenry Cnty., #13-1002, 2013 U.S. App.
Lexis 16665 (7th Cir.).
The claim that all floor officers were absent in
the building near the prisoner's cell prior to his suicide due to a staff
meeting that resulted in the absence of supervision for three hours presented a
triable issue of fact as to whether certain defendant acted with deliberate
indifference to inmate safety and created a substantial risk of serious harm.
Two officers were improperly granted summary judgment because there were
disputed issues of fact as to whether they failed to adequately respond to his
suicide by administering CPR. Lemire v. California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, #11-15475, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 16317 (9th Cir.).
A prisoner's mother and estate sued
correctional personnel who were working at the county jail at the time he
successfully committed suicide by using a bed sheet to hang himself, as well as
various county entities. The lawsuit claimed that, despite knowledge of the
prisoner's mental illness, the defendants failed to take appropriate
precautions such as removing the bedding from his cell or making sure that he
took his medications after a prior unsuccessful suicide attempt. The defendants
filed an appeal challenging the denial of Alabama's state immunity under a
section of a state statute concerning a state law wrongful death claim. The
federal appeals court certified to the Alabama Supreme Court two unresolved
questions of state law: 1. whether the immunity granted to sheriffs' jailers
under the statute applied to conduct before the statute's effective date, but
the lawsuit was filed after that date, and 2. whether the statute's requirement
that jailers act "in accordance with the law" in order to receive
immunity was intended to encompass only violations of the state criminal code
or all violations of state law. Johnson v. Conner, #12-15228, 203 U.S. App. Lexis
13831 (11th Cir.).
A 16-year-old in an Illinois juvenile detention
facility had a history of mental illness and three known prior in custody
suicide attempts. The record of his latest intake assessment indicated that he
suffered from major depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder, anger, behavior
disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. He had also previously
gone through drug abuse counseling. He had a history of setting fires, cruelty
to animals, threatening to kill teachers, alcohol and cannabis use, gang
affiliation, and putting a gun to a cousin's head. Despite all this, the
juvenile stated that he was not having depressive or manic symptoms and had not
recently had suicidal thoughts. Prozac and lithium was prescribed for him and
he was evaluated for suicide risk from time to time. Subsequently, he
successfully hung himself in his cell. Even assuming that the plaintiff had
shown that the defendants were aware of the suicide risk of using metal bunk
beds in rooms for mentally disturbed detainees, and that alternative
arrangements were feasible, the law was not clearly established enough to
defeat the defendant supervisors' defense of qualified immunity. A defendant
doctor was not sufficiently enough involved with the decedent to be liable for
his death. Miller v. Harbaugh, #11-3418, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 21855 (7th Cir.).
A pre-trial detainee in a county facility
had a history of depression but had exhibited no signs of suicidal tendencies.
A social worker decided not to forward his request to see a prison psychiatrist
to ask for anti-depressant medication. After the detainee hung himself and
died, a lawsuit was filed for deliberate indifference against the psychiatrist,
who was an employee of a private nonprofit organization which furnishes medical
services to the facility. The psychiatrist could not seek qualified immunity
from federal civil rights liability as a private doctor working part-time for a
government entity, as there was no history of such immunity for such doctors at
the time the federal civil rights statute was enacted. McCullum v. Tepe,
#11-3424, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 18171, 2012 Fed. App. 0287P (6th Cir.).
A prisoner who had a long history of suicide attempts
successfully hung himself to death. A federal appeals court ruled that the
defendants, including an intake nurse, a psychology associate, and a number of
guards were properly denied summary judgment in a lawsuit over the death, given
that there were allegations that could support a finding of deliberate
indifference. The nurse allegedly reviewed his file and failed to include his
history of suicide from his transfer form. The psychology associate allegedly
approved his placement in a special management unit, which the plaintiffs
claimed did not provide adequate care. The guards were accused of not promptly
summoning medical help when they found the prisoner hanging in his cell, with
no pulse or breath. Estate of Miller v. Tobiasz, #11-3233, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis
10465 (7th Cir.).
A pretrial detainee who complained about a
sheriff and a jail superintendent confining him to segregation on "suicide
watch" for over two years did not show a violation of his due process
rights. He failed to prove that the defendants intentionally disregarded a
substantial risk of harm to him when what they did was follow a psychologist's
recommendations. Miller v. Hertz, #10-1127, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 10202 (Unpub.
7th Cir.).
A private company that contracted with a
county to provide medical services at a jail was found liable for failing to
prevent the suicide of a detainee. The defendant was aware of the risk that he
might commit suicide when he answered "yes" to ten questions on a
suicide screening form at intake. The jury awarded $750,000 in damages, and the
court also awarded the plaintiffs $234,320 in attorneys' fees, and $11,302.20
in costs. The court also reduced the damage award against the defendant company
to $257,000 to reflect the amount paid by other defendant parties who settled
before trial. The jury had found the private company 35% at fault for the
death, while assessing 65% of the blame against the county and its employees. A
federal appeals court upheld this result. Sinkov v. Americor, Inc., #10-0309,
2011 U.S. App. Lexis 7667 (Unpub. 2nd Cir.).
A prisoner who claimed that a psychologist improperly
ordered him placed on suicide watch instead of medicating him failed to
establish a claim for deliberate indifference. There was nothing to show that
the defendant's actions were inconsistent with his duties as a medical
professional. The prisoner had a history of substance abuse and expressed a
desire to be medicated with Zoloft, which the psychologist did not believe he
needed. Walker v. Eyke, #09-1695, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 6512 (Unpub. 6th Cir.).
A pretrial detainee committed suicide on the
third day of his confinement, and his estate sued the county and various jail
and health care personnel and entities for failure to prevent the suicide. The
county, jail warden, and correctional officers moved for summary judgment, and
the trial court granted the motion as to all defendants, erroneously also
including the independent private contractor providing medical services at the
jail and its defendant employees, despite the fact that they had not joined in
the summary judgment motion. When informed of this, the trial judge
nevertheless upheld the summary judgment for these defendants, ruling that as
private parties they did not act under color of state law as required for
federal civil rights claims, and declining to exercise jurisdiction over state
law claims against them. A federal appeals court held that the trial judge
should have given the plaintiff notice and an opportunity to be heard before
ruling that the private defendants did not act under color of state law. The
plaintiff could have argued that the private defendants acted under color of
state law, and acted with deliberate indifference to a known risk of suicide.
Further proceedings were therefore required. It is well settled, the appeals
court noted, that private persons and entities sometimes act under color of
state law. Donnell v. Correctional Health Services, Inc., #10-1211, 2010 U.S.
App. Lexis 25815 (Unpub. 3rd Cir.).
A prisoner suffering from bipolar disorder hung
himself to death in his cell in a Texas prison. His mother sued, claiming that
prison authorities had been deliberately indifferent to her son's condition, in
violation of the Eighth Amendment. She also asserted a disability
discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She
argued that he had been denied treatment for his condition, that he was denied
medication or it was confiscated, causing manic episodes, and that he was
sometimes denied Lamictal, fish oil supplements, and vitamin E, which had been
effective in treating his bipolar disorder, and instead provided with
ineffective medications with extreme side effects. She also contended that
prison employees missed clear signs that his mental health was deteriorating
and that he was a suicide risk.At the time of his death, he was being housed in
isolation, which was allegedly a violation of the standards issued by National
Commission on Correctional Health Care ("NCCHC"), which direct that
suicidal prisoners not be housed in isolation, unless under constant
supervision. He was allegedly not closely monitored, and his mother argued that
log entries showing the contrary had been fabricated. The federal appeals court
upheld a determination that the lawsuit's federal civil rights clams against
the state Department of Criminal Justice and prison officials in their official
capacity were barred by sovereign immunity, while all other federal civil
rights and ADA claims were time-barred as they involved conduct that had
occurred over two years ago. Brockman v. Tex. Dept. of Criminal Justice,
#09-40940, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 20349 (Unpub. 6th Cir.).
A prisoner sued a prison psychiatrist who treated
him for various psychological disorders, asserting that the doctor prescribed
anti-psychotic medications in order to cause him to commit suicide. The
evidence, however, indicated that the inmate, who stated that he had lost trust
in the doctor, exhibited paranoid thoughts, stopped taking his medication, and
threatened suicide, and that the doctor had him placed under observation. There
was no evidence of deliberate indifference to the prisoner's medical needs,
much less an intent to harm him. There was also no evidence of the inmate's
contention that the anti-psychotic medication prescribed interacted with other
medication he was taking to cause suicidal tendencies. Thomas v. Beard,
#10-1375, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 16390 (Unpub. 3rd Cir.).
A juvenile pretrial detainee segregated from
adult prisoners committed suicide in jail. A federal appeals court held that a
jail nurse was entitled to summary judgment, as there was no evidence that she
had acted with deliberate indifference to a known risk that the youth was "in
a substantial danger" of killing himself. Similarly, there was no evidence
that a correctional officer knew that the detainee was suicidal, so that his
failure to check his cell every 15 minutes or to search it did not constitute
deliberate indifference. Claims against supervisors and the county were also
rejected as to the suicide, as there was no showing of an underlying
constitutional violation. Simmons v. Navajo County, #08-15522, 2010 U.S. App.
Lexis 12858 (9th Cir.).
A prisoner whose wife killed herself after she
was released from jail sued the sheriff's department, the jail, and a number of
jailers, claiming that their deliberate indifference caused her death.
Reversing the dismissal of the lawsuit, the federal appeals court ruled that
the trial court should have "liberally construed" the complaint as
setting forth a theory that could proceed--specifically that the defendants
failed to provide the decedent with adequate medical care and were deliberately
indifferent to her needs, especially when she was in a mental hospital while in
state custody. The husband allegedly tried to get guards to investigate his
wife's suicide threats, but that instead of doing so, they mocked him and
ignored his requests. Garrett v. Belmont County Sheriff's Dept., #08-3978, 2010
U.S. App. Lexis 6770 (Unpub. 6th Cir.).
Officers transporting a woman to a jail for civil
protective custody witnessed her attempting to choke herself by wrapping a
seatbelt around her neck, screaming that they should kill her or she would take
her own life. They failed to either take her to a hospital or report the
incident to jail personnel. She was released and then detained again. During
the second detention, which was less than 48 hours after the suicide threat,
she hung herself in her cell. A reasonable jury could find that the officers
acted with deliberate indifference to the decedent's serious medical needs so
that they were not entitled to qualified immunity. The city could also
potentially be liable for failing to adequately train the officers on suicide
prevention and reporting, but claims relating to alleged failure to discipline
the individual officers were properly rejected. Conn v. City of Reno,
#07-15572, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 729 (9th Cir.).
A mental health patient at a state hospital was
on leave from the hospital to attend a family funeral, and was arrested for
theft and battery after getting separated from his mother. During booking at
the jail, it was noticed that he had laceration scars on his neck and wrist,
and he admitted having attempted suicide during the previous month. Jail
personnel arranged for him to continue receiving medication he was taking to
inhibit suicidal thoughts. He was placed on suicide watch for a time, but taken
off it after he allegedly denied having suicidal thoughts. He was again placed
on suicide watch after refusing his medication, and after a blade was found
missing from his razor. When he was later again taken off suicide watch, he
used a bed sheet to hang himself from the bars on his cell window. Summary
judgment was upheld for defendant jail officials in a lawsuit over his death,
as the evidence presented was insufficient to meet the "high hurdle"
of deliberate indifference to the risk of suicide required for liability. A
settlement of $75,000 was reached on official capacity claims against the
sheriff. Minix v. Canareccii, #09-2001, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 4025 (7th Cir.).
After a pretrial detainee successfully committed
suicide, his parents sued the county, two deputies, and a mental health
specialist for failing to prevent his death. While the other defendants were
not shown to have known that the detainee was suicidal or to have deliberately
ignored a risk that he might take his own life, the mental health specialist
was not entitled to summary judgment. His expressed understanding that the
detainee was "not out of the woods yet" could be used to show that a
reasonable mental health professional would not have acted to remove suicide
prevention measures previously imposed on the detainee by another employee.
Clouthier v. Contra Costa, #07-16703, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 884 (9th Cir.).
Evidence in a lawsuit did not show that a private
company that managed a county jail or its employees had knowledge making a
detainee's suicide foreseeable. No behavior was witnessed indicating mental
issues or suicidal tendencies on the part of the detainee. During the morning
of the suicide, employees violated the company's own policies of making rounds
by performing checks only hourly and omitting the decedent's location during
one such check, but this did not suffice to impose liability in the absence of
foreseeability of the suicide attempt. Timson v. Juvenile and Jail Facility
Management Services, Inc., #09-12351, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 26120 (Unpub. 11th
Cir.).
An arrestee taken to a county prison told
officers that he had swallowed 10 to 12 oxycontin pills, resulting in him being
placed under close observation. His privileges were gradually restored, but he
committed suicide in his cell. His grandmother sued the county and prison
employees, claiming deficient suicide prevention policies or practices led to
his death and that there had been deliberate indifference to his serious
medical needs. The plaintiff failed to show that the decedent had a particular
vulnerability to suicide, according to the appeals court. The court believed
that taking the drugs, cutting open a mattress, and putting a staple into or
near his eye did not show such vulnerability, and that even his family and
friends did not notice any change in his behavior that would appear to make him
more likely to try to take his own life. Wargo v. Schuylkill County, #08-4802,
2009 U.S. App. Lexis 22279 (Unpub. 3rd Cir.).
An arrestee placed in a county jail had problems
with both anxiety and asthma. He was placed in a holding cell so that
corrections officers could check on him from time to time. He hanged himself in
his cell. It was subsequently learned that one officer had filled in the
welfare check log after the fact, even though he lacked personal knowledge of
when other officers had checked on the prisoner. A federal lawsuit over the
prisoner's death resulted in summary judgment for the defendants. The
administrator of the decedent's estate then filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Ohio
state court. An Ohio appeals court ruled that there was insufficient evidence
that the officers acted recklessly and were aware that their conduct would
probably result in the suicide, so that summary judgment was granted for them
The court also rejected a claim for spoilation of evidence against the
officer who filled out the welfare check log after the fact, noting that he did
not destroy physical evidence or otherwise disrupt the lawsuit. Hope v. Lake
County Board of Commissioners, #2008-L-173, 2009 Ohio App. Lexis 4982 (11th
Dist.).
An officer did not use excessive force in
employing pepper spray to control an unruly inmate and compel him to comply
with her orders. After he was pepper sprayed, he was examined by psychiatric
staff members, who concluded that he should be placed on suicide watch, after
which he was transferred to a floor where such prisoners were housed. The
detainee had no due process right to a hearing prior to his transfer there.
Sanchez v. McCray, #08-13503, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 22800 (Unpub. 11th Cir.).
In a lawsuit filed by the sister of a detainee
who successfully committed suicide, a federal appeals court upheld a finding of
no liability on civil rights claims against the county, but reversed summary
judgment for a psychiatrist under contract with the jail on a medical
malpractice claim. The psychiatrist, who was consulted by jail personnel on the
detainee's prescriptions, tried to meet with him for a psychiatric examination,
but the detainee became "highly agitated" and refused to speak with
him in front of a jail officer. The psychiatrist believed that this was a manic
episode and discontinued an antidepressant medication to attempt to deal with
it. For purposes of the medical malpractice claim, this was a treatment decision,
resulting in a duty of care. Whether the psychiatrist violated the applicable
standard of care and whether this proximately caused the detainee's death
required further proceedings to determine. While it was clear that the jail's
express policy required the presence of a jail officer during the interview
with the psychiatrist, this was not a violation of the detainee's
constitutional rights. Hunter v. Amin, #08-3719, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 21731
(7th Cir.).
The temporary placement of the plaintiff prisoner
in an observation cell because it was believed he might be suicidal did not
violate the Eighth Amendment. The court also rejected claims based on the
alleged failure to provide promised ambulatory aids and dietary supplements if
the prisoner would end his hunger strike. The prisoner could proceed, however,
on his claim that he was not provided with advance notice of a claimed
disciplinary violation. Cox v. Clark, #07-16812, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 7526
(Unpub. 9th Cir.).
Two police officers transporting a detainee to
civil protective custody experienced her wrapping a seatbelt around her neck in
an attempt to choke herself, followed by her screaming that they should kill
her or else she would kill herself. They allegedly failed to report this to jail
personnel or to take her to a hospital, and she was released from custody a few
hours later. The following day, based on a misdemeanor charge, she was detained
again, and subsequently, less than forty-eight hours after her initial suicide
threats, she hung herself in her cell and died. Overturning summary judgment
for the defendant police officers in a federal civil rights lawsuit over the
suicide, a federal appeals court found that a reasonable jury could have
decided that their failure to report the suicide attempt and threats rendered
subsequent medical evaluation at the facility ineffective, and that the suicide
might have been prevented by effective medical intervention, had these facts
been known. Conn v. City of Reno, #07-15572, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 16348 (9th
Cir.).
An inmate on suicide watch at a county detention
facility, having previously attempted suicide, killed himself by hanging
himself in his cell with a blanket given to him by a guard after he complained
of being cold. The trial court properly dismissed claims against various
"John Doe" defendants when the plaintiff failed, after ten months of
extensive discovery, to identify these individuals. The appeals court also
ruled that the guard's action did not show that the facility engaged in
deliberately indifferent training or supervision. Blakeslee v. Clinton County,
#08-4313, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 15483 (Unpub. 3rd Cir.).
A prisoner who suffered self-inflicted serious
injuries from several suicide attempts was entitled to the appointment of
counsel in pursuing his lawsuit asserting that his injuries were the result of
untreated mental illness. Prison medical records appeared to support his claim
that he suffered from serious mental illness, a learning disability, and
functioned on a "borderline intellectual level." In denying the
appointment of counsel, the trial court abused its discretion by failing to
examine the prisoner's competency to litigate his case. Matz v. Frank,
#08-3388, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 16585 (Unpub. 7th Cir.).
After an 18-year-old female detainee at a
Wisconsin prison for women managed to commit suicide despite being placed on
24-hour-a-day suicide watch, her estate and minor sisters sued a number of
correctional employees for failure to prevent the death, seeking a total of $10
million in damages. After years of litigation, the plaintiffs accepted a
settlement offer of $635,000, not including attorneys' fees. The plaintiffs
then sought $328,740.42 in attorneys' fees. The trial judge reduced the
request, awarding $100,000 in attorneys' fees, stating that he was doing so
because the plaintiffs recovered only a "small fraction" of the
damages they originally sought. The appeals court found that this was an
improper approach, and stated that the fact that the plaintiffs initially
requested an "absurd" amount of damages should not be held against
them to reduce the attorneys' fee award, since they did obtain a
"significant" recovery. Further proceedings were ordered on the right
amount of attorneys' fees to award. Estate of Enoch v. Tienor, #08-4103, 2009
U.S. App. Lexis 13920 (7th Cir.).
A medical service that provided care to prisoners
failed to show that it was an arm of the state of Delaware for purposes of
asserting Eleventh Amendment immunity from a lawsuit for damages arising out of
the successful suicide of a prisoner with psychiatric problems after he was
removed from suicide watch and placed on a less restrictive watch status. The
medical service was a corporate entity, was not exempt from state taxation, and
there was no showing that a judgment against it would be paid out of state
funds. The defendant also failed to show that it was entitled to state law tort
immunity. Lamb v. Taylor, #08-324, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis 26853 (D. Del.).
A prisoner who claimed that he asked for help for
his suicidal condition stated a viable Eighth Amendment claim. He asserted that
he asked to be placed on observation status because of suicidal thoughts, that
an officer gave him a razor after he expressed these thoughts, and that medical
treatment was not provided until a week after he cut himself 133 times with the
razor. He also claimed that "cries for help" were not responded to
until he actually tried to hang himself. If true, the actions of a crisis
intervention worker, a nurse, and the corrections officer who allegedly gave
the prisoner the razor could be found to constitute deliberate indifference to
the risk of suicide. Vann v. Vandenbrook, 09-cv-007, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis
10195 (W.D. Wis.).
There were genuine issues of fact as to whether
prison staff members acted with deliberate indifference to the risk that an
inmate would hurt himself, resulting in his death in his cell from asphyxia
from hanging himself while trying to feign suicide. Wilson v. Taylor, Civ. No.
05-821, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis 11104 (D. Del.).
Detention center personnel were entitled to
qualified immunity in a lawsuit concerning the death of a woman brought there
following a minor auto collision who then used a television cable to hang herself
after she was then arrested on an outstanding warrant. Prior to her death, the
detainee had not exhibited any suicidal tendencies to put the defendants on
notice that she might harm herself. Prestenbach v. LaFourche Parish Detention
Center, 08-4109, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis 14784 (E.D. La.).
Police officers were aware that a pretrial
detainee was suicidal, and, although the actions they took proved insufficient
to prevent his death, there was no reasonable basis to determine, on the basis
of the evidence presented, that they acted with deliberate indifference to the
risk of his suicide. The officers did take dangerous items, including a razor
blade, from the detainee, handcuffed him behind his back, and sought help from
a special unit to assist with the emotionally disturbed arrestee. As they
waited for assistance, they cornered the detainee against a wall, and chased
him when escaped and ran up stairs to a roof from which he jumped to his death.
Kelsey v. City of New York, 07-0290-cv, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 840 (2nd Cir.).
Family of prisoner who died after hanging himself
in a county jail failed to show that sheriff should be held liable on the
alleged basis of failure to establish adequate policies on providing medical
care or failure to adequately supervise personnel, or that the county should be
held liable on the basis of deliberate indifference or inadequate policies.
Brumfield v. Hollins, No. 07-61023, (5th Cir.). [Note: the citation to this
case, decided Dec. 2nd, is not yet available at Lexisone, for some reason. Will
keep looking for it].
Correctional officer could not be held liable for
pre-trial detainee's death from suicide when there was no indication that the
officer was aware of the allegedly suicidal behavior observed by his cellmates,
or that the inmate's behavior was otherwise unusual. It could not be inferred
that a decision to move the detainee to a particular cell indicated knowledge
of a risk that he would commit suicide, since that cell was not only used for
prisoners on suicide watch. Gaston v. Ploeger, No. 08-3028, 2008 U.S. App.
Lexis 22197 (10th Cir.).
Prison psychiatrist was not entitled to qualified
immunity in a suicidal prisoner's lawsuit claiming that she acted with
deliberate indifference to his serious injuries. Her action in ordering his
transport 150 miles away for medical treatment while he was in a comatose
condition hours after a suicide attempt, instead of attempting to provide
immediate medical care, could be found to be conduct which would result in a
"significant delay" or even complete denial of medical care. The
exceptional circumstances of the prisoner's comatose condition, the court
found, "obviously" required immediate medical care, so that the trial
court did not err in finding that she was liable for the prisoner's injuries.
The trial court awarded the prisoner $103,800 in compensatory damages, as well
as attorneys' fees. Bias v. Woods, No. 05-10890, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 16299
(Unpub. 5th Cir.).
The use of male officers to remove a suicidal prisoner
from her cell and remove her clothing was based on staffing exigencies. The
clothing was removed so that it could not be used by the inmate to injure
herself. The court granted all defendants summary judgment, also ruling that
the prisoner's removal from her cell and placement in administrative
segregation did not violate her rights, since her past suicidal threats and
current conduct justified these actions. Graham v. Van Dycke, No. 05-3397, 2008
U.S. Dist. Lexis 53253 (D. Kan.).
When a detainee responded negatively, during jail
intake, to questions about whether he had ever attempted suicide or was
suicidal, but affirmatively to a question about whether he recently suffered
the loss of a loved one, a reasonable jury could not conclude that the risk
that he would commit suicide was obvious. Accordingly, even if suicide
prevention training had not been provided for jail personnel, the county was
not liable for failure to prevent the detainee's suicide seven hours later.
Whitt v. Stephens County, No. 07-10729, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 10881 (5th Cir.).
The fact that officers transporting prisoners had
different duties than arresting officers, or that jail clerks did not receive
training on the watching of monitors and had too much work to do to adequately
watch them was insufficient to impose liability on the city for an alleged
practice or custom of failing to provide adequate suicide prevention training
to jail personnel. City and officers were not liable for detainee's suicide in
city jail. Coleman v. City of Pagedale, No. 4:06CV-01376, 2008 U.S. Dist. Lexis
6781 (E.D. Mo.).
No evidence was presented from which a jury could
reasonably find that jail officials acted with deliberate indifference to the
risk that a detainee would commit suicide. While jail personnel knew that the
detainee had "emotional issues," they acted reasonably in placing him
in administrative segregation in order to better monitor him, in arranging for
him to meet with a counselor with training in suicide risk assessment, and in
relying on the counselor's determination that, while he may have been having
"passive suicidal thoughts," it was not necessary to place him on
suicide watch. Kulp v. Veruete, No. 06-4790, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 4205 (3rd
Cir.).
Nurse was not entitled to summary judgment on the
basis of qualified immunity in a lawsuit accusing her of deliberate
indifference to risk of suicide of detainee at youth correctional facility. The
deceased youth's parents claimed that the nurse was aware that their son had a
history of suicide attempts and bipolar disorder, but failed to put him on
suicide watch or to complete a form that would have notified other facility
staff that he was a suicide risk, resulting in him committing suicide hours
later. The nurse claimed that the youth appeared "happy" during the
intake process. Matis v. Johnson, No. 07-30104, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 2086 (5th
Cir.).
City and its personnel were not liable for
suicide of a man arrested for intoxicated driving and detained in a cell for intoxicated
and combative prisoners. There was no evidence that officers had any actual
knowledge that the detainee posed a substantial risk of suicide. The fact that
he had fought with officers and made certain "off-hand, cavalier"
comments did not establish that he was suicidal. Branton v. City of Moss Point,
No. 07-60653, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 76 (5th Cir.).
Mother of detainee who committed suicide in jail
failed to show that the jailers knew or reasonably should have known of his
suicidal tendencies or contributed in any way to his death by an unjustified
delay in providing him with medical assistance. Estate of Justus v. County of
Buchanan, No. 1:06CV00117, 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 75238 (W.D. Va.).
The mother of a detainee who committed suicide in
a county jail failed to show that the jailers knew, or reasonably should have
known, of his suicidal tendencies or that any delay in providing medical
assistance contributed to his death. The court also found that even if the
county sheriff was deliberately indifferent in failing to maintain a
surveillance system in good operating order, there was no showing that existing
law would have clearly established that the absence of an operating
surveillance system would violate a detainee's constitutional rights. Justus v.
County of Buchanan, No.1:06CV00117, 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 75238 (W.D.
Va.).
Family of arrestee who committed suicide by
hanging himself with trousers supplied by the sheriff's department failed to
show that the jail's training policies on suicide prevention were inadequate
and caused the arrestee's death. Appeals court also rejects state law claim
under Texas Tort Claims Act. There was no waiver of sovereign immunity under
that statute for issuing "non-defective" trousers to the arrestee.
Forgan v. Howard County, No. 06-10472, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 17903 (5th Cir.).
While a detainee who attempted suicide by hanging
himself was young, intoxicated, and acting irrationally, these facts did not
necessarily establish that he had a strong likelihood of inflicting harm upon
himself. Neither his behavior nor scars on his arms were sufficient to put an
officer on notice that he could harm himself. No liability existed, therefore,
for the permanent brain damage he suffered from his suicide attempt. Joines v.
Township of Ridley, No. 06-2518, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 15859 (3rd Cir.).
Use of restraints on prisoner at county jail
after she stated that she was having suicidal thoughts and wanted to try to
make herself bleed to death did not shock the conscience or violate her due
process rights. Norris v. Engles, No. 06-3394, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 18838 (8th
Cir.).
County officials were not shown to have had
actual knowledge that a pre-trial detainee was a suicide risk, and therefore
were not liable for his suicide approximately five hours after he was brought
to a jail. No "troubling behavior" was observed prior to his death,
and any failure to assess and monitor the detainee was, at most, negligence,
which was insufficient for a federal civil rights claim. The defendants were
entitled to qualified immunity. Whitt v. Stephens County, No. 06-11215, 2007
U.S. App. Lexis 12550 (5th Cir.).
In a lawsuit arising out of the death of a county
inmate who hung himself, the plaintiff failed to show that the actions of
county employees violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C.
Sec. 12101 et seq., since there was no showing that the decedent had been
denied access to programs or services because of a disability. Claims for
alleged medical malpractice under state law, and that the county had policies,
practices, and procedures depriving the decedent of his Eighth Amendment
rights, however, were viable on the basis of disputed facts concerning his
treatment. Herman v. County of York, No. 1:05-CV-2501, 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis
28824 (M.D. Pa.).
In the absence of any evidence that a
correctional officer considered an inmate to be suicidal or that he was aware
of the "strange behavior" observed by the inmate's cellmates, he
could not be liable for the prisoner's suicide in a county jail, and was
entitled to qualified immunity. A sheriff, who was, at most, negligent, was
also entitled to qualified immunity on a federal civil rights claim. Gaston v.
Ploeger, No. 05-3461, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 8572 (10th Cir.).
When no previous suicide had occurred at a city
jail, and there was no evidence of a city policy which was deliberately
indifferent to prisoner suicide, the city could not be held liable for the
death of a prisoner placed on suicide watch (after he asked a detective, during
his booking, to please give him a gun so that he could shoot himself), but who
hung himself with two blankets torn into strips. Bradley v. City of Fendale,
No. 02-73001, 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 26270 (E.D. Mich.).
City and police officer were not entitled to
summary judgment in lawsuit concerning prisoner's successful suicide. Judge at
arraignment had ordered that the prisoner be placed on suicide watch, and
officer had been present at the hearing, but allegedly failed to notify anyone
concerning the suicide watch, resulting in the prisoner hanging himself when he
was left alone in his cell for an hour. Cooper v. County of Washtenaw, No.
06-1013, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 3630 (6th Cir.). [N/R]
Officers who placed prisoner in restraints during
suicide watch did not use excessive force or place him there with the intent of
harming him. Additionally, verbal insults by two officers after his suicide
attempt did not amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Martinez v. Zadroga,
No. 06-1410, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 1769 (10th Cir.). [N/R]
Estate of pretrial detainee who committed suicide
in county jail could pursue federal civil rights claims against jail's mental
health services contractor based on alleged failure to train personnel,
resulting in detainee, after being on suicide watch, being released back into
the general population prematurely. Factual issue existed as to whether
contractor's employees knew of the substantial risk of suicide based on contact
with the detainee's family and friends. Claims were also validly asserted
against the sheriff on the basis of prior suicides at the facility, and
policies and customs that allegedly caused them, but court dismisses state law
claims against the sheriff based on alleged overcrowding. The decision as to
whether or not to build a new jail to address overcrowding was one for which
the sheriff was entitled to sovereign immunity as a "planning
decision" under Florida law. Smith v. Brevard County, No.6:06-cv-715-Orl-31,
2006 U.S. Dist. Lexis 79506 (M.D. Fla.). [N/R]
Despite prior suicide attempt by detainee, jail
caseworker/counselor was not liable for 18-year-old's subsequent successful
suicide when she returned him to a single person cell in the general population
of the jail. She was entitled to qualified immunity, as there was no clearly
established law indicating that her actions would violate his constitutional
rights, even if she arguably acted with poor judgment. Perez v. Oakland County,
No. 05-1583, 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 25754 (6th Cir.). [2006 JB Dec]
Correctional officer to whom prisoner indicated
suicidal feelings did not act with deliberate indifference when he immediately
passed on the prisoner's request to see a counselor and returned to the cell
several times to see if he was ok. Other officers, who knew of the request to
see a counselor, but did not know the reason for the request, could not be
found to have acted with deliberate indifference to a suicide threat they did
not know about. Collins v. Seeman, No. 05-1309, 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 23092 (7th
Cir.). [2006 JB Nov]
Estate of pre-trial detainee who committed
suicide failed to show that jail nurse, social worker, psychologist, medical
services contractor, or director of correctional services for jail acted with
deliberate indifference in failure to prevent his death, but there were genuine
issues of fact barring summary judgment for a jail classification officer and a
supervisory correctional officer in the lawsuit. It was disputed whether these
latter defendants were aware of the decedent's prior suicide attempts and
suicide threats, and acted with deliberate indifference to these problems.
Linden v. Washtenaw County, No. 04-1964, 167 Fed. Appx. 410 (6th Cir. 2006).
[N/R]
Sheriff and arresting officer were not liable for
death of detainee who died from self-mutilation in county jail after an arrest
for intoxicated driving. Jailers were also entitled to qualified immunity for
their decision to admit the detainee to the jail rather than sending him to a
hospital, as he appeared calm and they did not know the amount of drugs he had
ingested or that he had a need for immediate medical treatment. They were not
entitled, however, to qualified immunity on the claim that they failed to
adequately monitor him following his intake. Grayson v. Ross, No. 04-3577, 2006
U.S. App. Lexis 18061 (8th Cir.). [2006 JB Sep]
The alleged absence of any mental illness in a
pre-trial detainee who killed himself in a county jail did not bar a federal
civil rights claim for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, but
neither the county nor an officer were deliberately indifferent, as they had no
awareness of any major risk that the detainee would commit suicide. Taylor v.
Wausau Underwriters Insurance Company, No. 04-C-1203, 423 F. Supp. 2d 882 (E.D.
Wis. 2006). [N/R]
Dismissal of lawsuit over suicide of pretrial
detainee was improper when the decedent's parents claimed that prison employees
either knew or reasonably should have known that they should keep him under
observation to prevent his suicide but did not do so, and also did not remove
from his possession items which he could use to kill himself, such as the
shoelace that he used to hang himself. Kulp v. Veruette, No. 04-3139, 167 Fed.
Appx. 911 (3rd Cir. 2006). [N/R]
Correctional officers were not liable for failing
to prevent pre-trial detainee's suicide. They had no reason to know that she
was likely to kill herself, since she had not previously threatened or
attempted to do so, and the mere fact of her intoxication, standing alone, was
insufficient to put them on notice of the risk of suicide, particularly when
she had been detained on previous occasions for public intoxication without
incident. Cruise v. Marino, No. 3:01-2310, 404 F. Supp. 2d 656 (M.D. Pa. 2005).
[N/R]
County sheriff was entitled to qualified immunity
from personal liability for failing to prevent pretrial detainee suicides at
the jail, given that there was no evidence indicating that he was personally
aware that detainees previously had considered suicide, and there was also no
evidence that he personally directed any actions concerning the detainees
during their detention. Mann v. Lopez, No. Civ.A. SA05CA0527, 404 F. Supp. 2d
932 (W.D. Tex. 2005). [N/R]
County and sheriff were not liable for detainee's
suicide when the jail had procedures in place to screen detainees for suicidal
tendencies and the detainee showed no signs of any suicidal intentions during
three weeks of detention prior to killing himself. Keehner v. Dunn, No.
05-2136, 409 F. Supp. 2d 1266 (D. Kan. 2005). [N/R]
Jailers did not act with deliberate indifference
in failing to prevent detainee's suicide attempt when they based their actions
on the opinion of a psychiatric doctor that the prisoner, in previously
stabbing himself in the wrist and drinking cleaning solution, was not suicidal,
but merely "acting out" and "malingering." Drake v. Koss,
No. 05-1464, 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 5396 (8th Cir.). [2006 JB Apr]
Deputies who placed an intoxicated detainee who
had made suicidal threats in a cell under video surveillance were not liable
for his subsequent successful suicide despite failure to remove the shoelaces
he used to hang himself. Short v. Smoot, No. 05-1284, 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 2564
(4th Cir.). County sheriff was not entitled to summary judgment on claims that
he was individually liable for a jail detainee's suicide on the basis of
failure to train personnel on the risk of detainee suicide. Gaston v. Ploeger,
No. 04-2368, 399 F. Supp. 2d 1211 (D. Kan. 2005). [2006 JB Mar]
Facts alleged were sufficient to create a genuine
issue as to whether an officer was deliberately indifferent to a "strong
likelihood" that a DUI arrestee would commit suicide while in the city
jail. Snow v. City of Citronelle, No. 04-14409, 2005 U.S. App. Lexis 17243
(11th Cir.). [2005 JB Oct]
Allegedly suicide-prone prisoner failed to show a
causal connection between the pending execution of another inmate and the
alleged increased risk that he and other suicide-prone prisoners might attempt
to harm themselves. Trial court properly dismissed his lawsuit, which he sought
to bring as a class action on behalf of suicide-prone prisoners, seeking to bar
the execution. Ziemba v. Rell, No. 05-8903, 409 F.3d 553 (2nd Cir. 2005). [N/R]
Prison officials did not show deliberate
indifference to the serious needs of a mentally ill and suicidal prisoner by
failing to provide requested therapeutic art supplies, when they did provide a
medical examination and anti-psychotic medications. Scarver v. Litscher,
No.01C497, 371 S. Supp. 2d 986 (W.D. Wis. 2005). [N/R]
If officers waited ten minutes to summon medical
assistance after discovering that arrestee had hung himself in his cell, this
could be found to be deliberate indifference, serving as a basis for liability
for his death. Bradich v. City of Chicago, No. 04-3626, 2005 U.S. App. Lexis
13131(7th Cir.). [2005 JB Aug]
Sheriff and jail administrator could not be held
liable for detainee's suicide in the absence of any evidence that either of
them was aware of a conversation the detainee's spouse had with a correctional
officer concerning the risk that he might attempt suicide or another officer's
report that the detainee may have been trying to accumulate some of his medications
to use at a later time. Court also finds that jail's suicide prevention policy
was reasonable and that the county was not deliberately indifferent to training
its employees in the prevention of suicide. The fact that the policy had not
been "updated" recently, and that jail was not accredited by the
American Correctional Association (ACA), did not alter the result when the
policy contained a detailed listing of factors for the identification of
possibly suicidal prisoners, procedures for screening inmates, and required
that personnel receive on-going training in suicide prevention and
intervention. Harvey v. County of Ward, No. A1-03-135, 352 F. Supp. 2d 1003
(D.N.D. 2005). [N/R]
Federal trial court properly granted judgment as
a matter of law on federal civil rights claims and negligent training and
supervision claims against Florida sheriff arising out of detainee's suicide
after his requests to see a psychiatrist failed to be granted. Appeals court
finds, however, that the trial court erred in also granting judgment for the
sheriff on a state law vicarious liability negligence claim. Trial court acted
within its discretion in excluding evidence of other suicides at detention
facility, and testimony of plaintiff's suicide expert witness. Cook v. Sheriff
of Monroe County, No. 03-14784, 2005 U.S. App. Lexis 4014 (11th Cir. 2005).
[2005 JB May]
Alleged county jail policy of keeping all
pretrial detainees housed in administrative segregation completely naked
violated their due process and Fourth Amendment rights, and was not justified
by concerns about suicide and guard safety. Federal court was also troubled by
the use of guards of the opposite gender to remove clothing from such
detainees. Sheriff was, however, entitled to qualified immunity from liability,
as the law on the subject was not clearly established at the time the alleged
policy was implemented. Rose v. Saginaw County, #01-10337, 353 F. Supp. 2d 900
(E.D. Mich. 2005). [2005 JB May]
City and police officer were not liable for
suicide of pre-trial detainee in his cell when officer did not know that the
detainee was suicidal and the city had constitutionally adequate suicide
prevention policies. Gray v. City of Detroit, No. 03-2515, 2005 U.S. App. Lexis
3419 (6th Cir. 2005). [2005 JB Apr]
Police officer working as jailer in city jail was
not entitled to peace-officer immunity under Alabama State law on a claim
against him by the sister of an inmate who committed suicide there. The officer
allegedly failed to follow mandatory rules and procedures requiring him to
check on the prisoner twice an hour, and therefore was not exercising
discretion when he engaged in the conduct that allegedly led to the inmate's
death. Court rejects, however, claims against police chief based on training,
implementing and enforcing procedures concerning the identification and
handling of potentially suicidal prisoners. Howard v. City of Atmore, No.
1021312, 887 So.2d 201 (Ala. 2003), as modified on denial of rehearing (2004).
[N/R]
County, warden, and jail personnel had no
liability for pre-trial detainee's suicide when there was nothing which would
have put them on notice that he was particularly susceptible to suicide
attempts. Woloszyn v. Lawrence, No. 03-2390, 2005 U.S. App. Lexis 1417 (3d Cir.).
[2005 JB Mar]
Juvenile pre-trial detainee's rights were not
violated by his incarceration in adult county jail when it was done in
compliance with Michigan state law and he was kept segregated from adult
prisoners. Conditions he faced in lock-down were not punitive but were
justified by a legitimate interest in preventing his possible suicide. Federal
appeals court further finds that his due process rights were not violated by
his loss of credit in alternative education program following his arrest and
detention or by the program's refusal to re-enroll him after his release.
Daniels v. Woodside, No. 03-2053, 2005 U.S. App. Lexis 1127 (6th Cir.). [2005
JB Mar]
Sheriff was not entitled to qualified immunity to claim
that he was deliberately indifferent in his training and supervision of
personnel in dealing with the risk of suicide in a county jail where two prior
suicides had occurred. Detainee who threatened suicide was allegedly placed in
an isolation cell and given a blanket with which he hung himself a half hour
after making the threat. Wever v. Lincoln County, No. 03-3633, 2004 U.S. App.
Lexis 22974 (8th Cir. 2004). [2004 JB Dec]
Jail personnel were not deliberately indifferent
to a substantial risk of injury or death for pretrial detainee subsequently
found dead in her cell either from self-hanging or from strangulation by
another person. There were no prior signs that the detainee, arrested for
allegedly operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs, was suicidal and
there was no information from which they would have known that she was at risk
of harm by someone else, and no evidence that the jailers themselves murdered
her. Stiltner v. Crouse, No. 1:03 CV 00078, 327 F. Supp. 2d 667 (W.D.Va. 2004).
[N/R]
Deliberate indifference to the risk that a
detainee in a county jail would commit suicide was not shown where the jailer
removed shoes and socks from the detainee's cell, had him placed in a padded
"lunacy cell," and instructed personnel to place him on a suicide watch.
Additionally, when the detainee was subsequently observed in the cell without
clothes and in a "frog-like" position, a nurse was instructed to
observe the detainee to assist in determining whether the cell should be
entered, and it was concluded that the detainee was merely sleeping at the
time. The fact that this conclusion was incorrect might show negligence, but
not the deliberate indifference required for a civil rights claim. Gray v.
Tunica County, Mississippi, #03-60761, 100 Fed. Appx. 281 (5th Cir. 2004). [N/R]
Federal appeals court reinstates claim against
county sheriff for failing to protect detainee against risk of suicide after he
learned that he had just made a suicide attempt at another jail from which he
had been transferred. Sheriff allegedly failed to inquire into the details of
this prior attempt and placed the prisoner in a cell with a bedsheet with which
the prisoner successfully killed himself. The prior suicide attempt days before
had also involved the use of a bedsheet. Turney v. Waterbury, No. 03-2375, 2004
U.S. App. Lexis 14811 (8th Cir). [2004 JB Sep]
Prison psychiatrist and mental health worker did
not act with deliberate indifference in returning prisoner, formerly found to
be suicidal, to the general prison population, after which he successfully
killed himself. The prisoner, at the time, appeared to have responded
positively to the medication provided, and signed a contract in which he agreed
not to hurt himself or others. The court finds that there was nothing from
which the defendants could have inferred a strong likelihood that he would
commit suicide at that time. Soles v. Ingham County, 316 F. Supp. 2d 536 (W.D.
Mich. 2004). [N/R]
Alleged failure of correctional employees to
attempt to resuscitate an inmate found hanging in his cell did not violate any
clearly established constitutional right in the absence of any evidence that
the inmate had a pulse or was breathing at the time a corrections officer
arrived at the cell. Dipace v. Goord, 308 F. Supp. 2d 274 (S.D.N.Y. 2004).
[N/R]
Federal appeals court upholds wrongful death jury
award of $1.75 million in Illinois detainee suicide case based on alleged
custom of failing to follow proper procedures with mentally ill inmates.
Woodward v. Corr. Med. Services of Illinois, #03-3147, 2004 U.S. App. Lexis
9537 (7th Cir.). [2004 JB Jul]
Pre-trial detainee's prior placement on suicide
watch, and other prior incidents, including him cutting himself, did not
suffice to show that jail officials were deliberately indifferent to the
possibility of his attempting suicide by placing him in the general population,
when a medical judgment had been made that this was now appropriate. There was
nothing to show that jail officials were subjectively aware of a substantial
risk that the detainee would imminently attempt suicide. Detainee therefore
could not seek damages for injuries suffered in unsuccessful suicide attempt.
Strickler v. McCord, 306 F. Supp. 2d 818 (N.D. Ind. 2004). [N/R]
Claim that jail personnel who came into contact
with a pre-trial detainee "should have" known that she was suicidal
was not sufficient to state a claim for "deliberate indifference" to
a known substantial risk of suicide as required for federal civil rights
liability. House v. County of Macomb, 303 F. Supp. 2d 850 (E.D. Mich. 2004).
[N/R]
Jailer who decided to finish feeding other
inmates rather than immediately checking on pretrial detainee he observed lying
nude and apparently sleeping in a "peculiar" position was entitled to
qualified immunity from liability for prisoner's successful suicide. The
detainee's use of his jail jumpsuit to strangle himself was not foreseeable and
the cell was padded, lacking fixtures that could be used by a prisoner seeking
to hang himself. Gray v. Tunica County, Mississippi, 279 F. Supp. 2d 789 (N.D.
Miss. 2003). [N/R]
Detainee's action of hanging himself to death
with shoelace in his holding cell less than two hours after being placed there
on DUI charges did not subject facility to liability under Pennsylvania state
law for negligence. Neither "personal property" nor "real
estate" exceptions to sovereign immunity under state law applied.
Pennsylvania State Police v. Klimek, 839 A.2d 1173 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2003). [2004 JB
Apr]
Private psychiatric hospital and not-for-profit
company which owned it were not immune under Tennessee law for potential
liability for county jail inmate's suicide on the basis of their employee's
alleged action in telling county jail that suicide protocol precautions were
not necessary for this prisoner. Employee also qualified as a "state
employee" because of his service in screening prisoners to determine if
hospitalization was appropriate, and as a state employee, he was entitled to
statutory immunity, but this did not alter the result as to the hospital or its
owner. Shelburne v. Frontier Health, 126 S.W.3d 838 (Tenn. 2003). [N/R]
Georgia county correctional facility personnel
took steps to monitor prisoner known to be a suicide risk after he previously
attempted to harm himself and were not liable for his successful suicide in his
cell which he accomplished by "unique methods," fashioning a
tourniquet from a bed sheet and a crutch he had in his cell which he needed to
walk after he broke his leg. Middlebrooks v. Bibb County, 582 S.E.2d 539 (Ga.
App. 2003). [2004 JB Mar]
Federal trial judge upholds jury's finding that
jail officials were negligent under Kansas state law, but not deliberately
indifferent, as required for a federal civil rights claim, in failing to
prevent the successful suicide of a inmate who used an electrical switchplate
in his cell as a suicide aid. Jury's award of $10,002,000 in damages is reduced
to $252,000 because of state statutory limit on wrongful death damage awards.
Estate of Sisk v. Manzanares, 270 F. Supp. 2d 1265 (D. Kan. 2003). [2003
JB Dec]
Correctional officer could be found to
have acted with deliberate indifference to an inmate's suicide threat if he
actually, as alleged, responded to the threat by encouraging him to go ahead,
leaving the area for a time, and refusing to return when other inmates tried to
inform him of the inmate's hanging himself. Olson v. Bloomberg, No. 02-1874,
339 F.3d 730 (8th Cir. 2003). [2003 JB Nov]
Jail's failure to provide a second nighttime
jailer, even if it violated the provisions of an earlier consent decree
concerning jail conditions did not establish a violation of the rights of a
pretrial detainee who committed suicide during night hours when only one jailer
was on duty. Sole jailer did not act with deliberate indifference to the needs
of the detainee, who had allegedly expressly threatened suicide, by waiting for
approximately one hour and 46 minutes between conducting checks of the
prisoner's cells. Cagle v. Sutherland, No. 02-13131, 334 F.3d 980 (11th Cir.
2003). [2003 JB Nov]
Prisoner's failure to object, in the trial court,
to a magistrate's report and recommendations resulting in the dismissal of his
claims that correctional officials were deliberately indifferent to his suicide
attempts by allowing him to possess and swallow razor blades, barred his
arguing any of his claims on appeal. Bacon v. McGarry, No. 02-4194, 71 Fed.
Appx. 19 (10th Cir. 2003). [N/R]
Manufacturer of paper gown allegedly marketed for
use with suicidal prisoners could be held liable when it failed to tear away
when detainee hanged himself with it. Claims for products liability,
negligence, and breach of warranty could proceed, along with due process claims
against city for alleged reckless failure to provide proper medical care for
suicidal prisoner. Court dismisses Eighth Amendment claim as inapplicable for
the death of a pretrial detainee, as opposed to a convicted prisoner. Reed v.
City of Chicago, No. 01C7865, 263 F. Supp. 2d 1123 (N.D. Ill. 2002).
[2003 JB Oct]
County and county sheriff reach $300,000
settlement with family of jail inmate on their claim that his needs for
psychiatric counseling were ignored, leading to his successful suicide. Lawsuit
contended that the jail staff had knowledge that the prisoner had suicidal
tendencies and had been diagnosed as a manic-depressive schizophrenic, but
failed to make arrangements to provide mental health care. Estate of Price v.
Black Hawk County, No. 00-CV-2008 (N.D. Iowa March 21, 2003), reported in The
National Law Journal, p. B2 (April 7, 2003). [N/R]
Jail inmate's suicide was an unforeseen incident
which could not be shown to have taken place because of the failure of officers
to regularly conduct surveillance of his cell, when he acted "calm and
controlled" before he took his own life, and his behavior did not show
that he might be a danger to himself. Harvey v. Nichols, No. A03A0568, 581
S.E.2d 272 (Ga. App. 2003). [2003 JB Sep]
Montana Supreme Court finds that prison's
practice of subjecting certain inmates to behavior modification plans, along
with the living conditions in the areas where such inmates were housed,
violated the state constitutional right to "human dignity" of
mentally ill prisoner and represented cruel and unusual punishment, especially
when used as a substitute for medical treatment for disruptive and suicidal
prisoner. Walker v. State of Montana, #01-528, 68 P.3d 872 (Mont. 2003). [2003
JB Aug]
Parents of Mississippi inmate who committed
suicide while incarcerated in county detention facility could not, under state
law, pursue wrongful death lawsuit against defendant correctional officials
when they were acting within the scope of their authority. State statute,
A.M.C. Sec. 11-46-9(1)(m) prohibits inmate's negligence lawsuits against
governmental entities and government employees acting within the scope of their
authority, and the prisoner's parents "stood in the position" of the
inmate in attempting to pursue a claim for wrongful death. Webb v. Desoto
County, #2002-CA-00005-SCT, 843 So. 2d 682 (Miss. 2003). [N/R]
Estate of prisoner who died from a prescription
drug overdose state a possible claim for negligence by alleging that prison
personnel violated policies requiring controlled substance medication to be
administered by licensed personnel, and by failing to complete a timely
"unusual incident report" (UIR) concerning the prisoner's suicide
attempt. Arias v. State of New York, Claim No. 97942, 755 N.Y.S.2d 223 (Ct. Cl.
2003). [N/R]
Correctional officials' interest in preventing
suicide and preserving life, as well as maintaining order and discipline,
outweighed a hunger-striking prisoner's right to privacy, resulting in a right
to force-feed the prisoner. People ex. Rel. Department of Corrections v.
Millard, Nos. 4-01-0857, 782 N.E.2d 966 (Ill. App. 2003). [2003 JB May]
Estate of manic-depressive schizophrenic prisoner
with prior suicidal tendencies who committed suicide in his cell when left
unattended reaches $300,000 settlement on federal civil rights lawsuit against
sheriff and county. The plaintiff claimed that the decedent's need for
psychiatric treatment or counseling was ignored, while the defendants argued
that the decedent did not indicate a need for such care, but instead misled
jail personnel about his medical history. Estate of Price v. Black Hawk County,
No. 00-CV-2008 (March 21, 2003, N.D. Iowa), reported in The National Law
Journal, p. B2 (April 7, 2003). [N/R]
Federal jury awards $1.75 million to the family of
county jail detainee who hung himself after telling jail medical workers that
he was suicidal. Jury award imposes liability on company that contracted with
county to provide medical services at facility, as well as against social
worker. County settled claims against it for $60,000 prior to trial. Woodward
v. Correctional Medical Services, No. 00C6010, U.S. District Ct. N.D. Ill.,
Feb. 24, 2003, reported in Chicago Tribune, Sec. 2, page 3 (Feb. 25, 2003) and
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, p. 3 (Feb. 25, 2003). [2003 JB Apr]
The fact that a city's policy on monitoring
suicidal pre-trial detainees allowed the clerk doing so to perform other duties
at the same time did not, by itself, demonstrate deliberate indifference to the
risk of harm, nor did the fact that the video equipment used for monitoring in
this particular instance turned out to be defective. Serafin v. City of
Johnstown, #02-1281, 53 Fed. Appx. 211 (3rd Cir. 2002). [2003 JB Apr]
Lawsuit for wrongful death based on prisoner's
suicide which named health care provider as a defendant did not have to comply
with medical malpractice lawsuit requirement of submission of an expert
affidavit of merit. Correctional officers who allegedly failed to follow jail
policies for monitoring and inspecting the prisoner's cell were not protected
by qualified immunity from wrongful death action, as their duty of inspecting
the cells on a schedule was "clear and certain," rather than
requiring the exercise of personal judgment. Clark v. Prison Health Services,
Inc., #A02A1014, 372 S.E.2d 342 (Ga. App. 2002). [N/R]
Dismissal in federal court of wrongful death lawsuit
brought over detainee's action of hanging himself in county jail barred
relitigation of the estate's wrongful death and negligence claims in state
court. Quinn v. Estate of Jones, No. 2000-CA-00977-SCT, 818 So. 2d 1148 (Miss.
2002). [N/R]
Prison medical personnel were not deliberately
indifferent to the needs of an inmate who committed suicide, when prisoner's
condition was changeable and he sometimes appeared able to interact appropriately
with others. Pelletier v. Magnusson, 201 F. Supp. 2d 148 (D. Maine 2002). [2002
JB Oct]
Federal civil rights lawsuit brought by inmate's
estate more than two years after his suicide in a county jail was time-barred
by a Kansas two year statute of limitations. The time period began to run after
the sheriff showed the administrators an air vent similar to that from which
the inmate hanged himself and told them that two other similar deaths had
occurred, which had led him to consider placing covers over the vents, which he
did not do. The court rejected the argument that the grief of the inmate's
parents over his death tolled (extended) the two year time limit. Hanchett v.
Saline County Board of Commissioners, 194 F. Supp. 2d 1150 (D. Kan. 2001). [N/R]
County was not liable to detainee's suicide in
jail on the basis of alleged inadequately staffing when it had an effective
policy of checking on suicidal inmates every fifteen minutes and an officer saw
and spoke to the detainee 15 to 20 minutes prior to the time he was found
hanging in his cell. Rapier v. Kankakee County, Illinois, 203 F. Supp. 2d 978
(C.D. Ill. 2002). [2002 JB Sep]
Jailer's alleged awareness of detainee's prior suicide
attempt seven months before was not sufficient, standing alone, to impose
liability for detainee's successful suicide, in the absence of any indication
that there was a strong likelihood that the detainee would commit suicide when
he did. Holland v. City of Atmore, 168 F. Supp. 2d 1303 (S.D. Ala. 2001). [N/R]
Prisoner's estate had a possible claim against
prison psychologist for failing to take action to prevent prisoner's suicide
when psychologist himself had previously decided that the prisoner was suicidal
"enough" to be placed under close observation. Prisoner's own
assertion that he was "not suicidal" when released from suicide watch
after a day was insufficient to change the result. Comstock v. McCrary,
#99-2448, 273 F.3d 693 (6th Cir. 2001). [2002 JB Apr]
Prison medical personnel could not be held liable
for failure to prevent a mentally ill prisoner's suicide, but federal appeals
court finds that a claim was adequately stated against correctional officers to
whom the prisoner purportedly made statements about killing himself and who
allegedly did not look inside his cell for five hours on the night he did so,
despite his cell window being covered by toilet paper. Sanville v. McCaughtry,
#00-2933, 266 F.3d 724 (7th Cir. 2001). [2002 JB Apr]
Kentucky county was entitled to sovereign
immunity against claims for negligent operation of jail arising from prisoner's
suicide in which he hung himself with a belt from the showerhead in his cell.
State Board of Claims accordingly had no jurisdiction over claims brought by
prisoner's estate against jailer and deputy jailers. Commonwealth v. Harris,
No. 2000-SC-0409-TG, 59 S.W.2d 896 (Ky. 2001). [N/R]
Texas county juvenile detention facility reaches
$100,000 settlement in lawsuit brought by family of 15-year-old who hung
himself in his cell with a sheet. Creel v. Denton County, Denton Co., Texas,
Cir. Ct., October 5, 2001, reported in The National Law Journal, p. B5 (Jan. 7,
2002). [N/R]
County sheriff's statement to the media that a
jailor was watching a tv monitor and saw a pretrial detainee put a sheet around
his neck was not admissible evidence in a lawsuit over the detainee's suicide.
The statement did not come under a public records and reports exception to the
hearsay rule, since it was not the result of the jail's investigation.. Ellis
v. Jamerson, 174 F. Supp. 2d 747 (E.D. Tenn. 2001). [N/R]
Police dispatcher/jailer on duty when arrestee
committed suicide was not liable, in the absence of subjective knowledge that
there was a strong likelihood that arrestee would make the attempt at that
time. Arrestee's prior alleged history of suicide attempts, drug abuse and
mental problems did not, by themselves, show such knowledge when she did not
exhibit suicidal threats or actions on the day of her most recent
incarceration. Bowens v. City of Atmore, 171 F. Supp. 2d 1244 (S.D. Ala. 2001).
[N/R]
Sheriff was entitled to summary judgment in federal
civil rights lawsuit brought by prisoner's mother after he committed suicide in
jail. Naumoff v. Old, #99-2574, 167 F. Supp. 2d 1250 (D. Kan. 2001). [N/R]
Estate of 17-year-old male pretrial detainee who
committed suicide in N.Y. county jail did not show that jail officials were
"subjectively aware" that he posed a suicide risk, so no federal
civil rights claim could be pursued for failure to prevent the death. Plaintiff
could, however, pursue state law wrongful death/negligence claim. Rivera v.
County of Westchester, 729 N.Y.S.2d 836 (Sup. 2001). [2002 JB Jan]
County jail had no duty to obtain medical records of
detainee from county hospital which would have revealed that he was a suicide
risk and had previously attempted to kill himself. In the absence of an
awareness of this risk, officer's failure to conduct required half-hour cell
checks did not constitute deliberate indifference to the risk of the detainee
committing suicide, but a state law negligence claim based on this can be
pursued. Hott v. Hennepin County, #00-3595, 260 F.3d 901 (8th Cir. 2001). [2002
JB Jan]
Jail officials were not deliberately indifferent to the
risk of prisoner suicide simply because they failed to remove a coat hook from
jail cells after a prior suicide at the jail took place by a prisoner hanging
himself from a protruding light fixture. Pretrial detainee could not recover
damages for brain injuries he received during his suicide attempt. Hofer v.
City of Auburn, Alabama, 155 F. Supp. 2d 1308 (M.D. Ala. 2001). [N/R]
299:173 Supreme Court of Alaska rejects trial court
jury instructions that state could not be held liable for prisoner's death if
it was caused by his intentional suicide. Joseph v. State, No. S-8518, 26 P.3d
459 (Alaska 2001).
298:158 Nebraska state statute mandating parental
notification of juvenile detention did not impose liability on county and
sheriff's deputies, based on failure to do so, for juvenile's subsequent
suicide after his release from custody. Claypool v. Hibberd, #S-99-1223, 626
N.W.2d 539 (Neb. 2001).
298:155 Trial judge's award of $1.8 million in
damages for suicide of pre-trial detainee in federal jail overturned; suicide
after six months of incarceration was not foreseeable when prisoner had no
known prior history of suicide attempts or thoughts; award of $1.6 million for
pain and suffering while hanging to death was excessive when no reasoning for
the award was offered by the court. Jutzi- Johnson v. United States, #00-2411,
263 F.3d 753 (7th Cir. 2001).
294:90 Constant video surveillance of suicidal
prisoner's cell was not "deliberate indifference" to the risk of him
taking his life; correctional officials not liable for prisoner hanging himself
with his shoelaces; no liability, under Virginia state law, for suicide in the
absence of a showing that prisoner was of "unsound mind" when he took
his own life. Brown v. Harris, No. 00-1127, 240 F.3d 383 (4th Cir. 2001).
295:108 Michigan city reaches $31,500 settlement
with three detainees jailed completely naked for a number of hours as a suicide
prevention measure; prior court ruling found that removal of their underwear
and possible viewing of their bodies by female officers was not adequately
justified by suicide prevention concerns, and could violate privacy and due
process rights. Wilson v. City of Kalamazoo,127 F. Supp. 2d 855 (W.D. Mich.
2000).
294:91 Having male pretrial detainees strip to
their underwear as a suicide prevention measure if they refused to answer
intake questions about suicidal tendencies was reasonable and did not violate
their due process or privacy rights, even if done in the presence of female
correctional officers. Johnson v. City of Kalamazoo, 124 F. Supp. 2d 1099 (W.D.
Mich. 2000).
290:24 Sheriff and chief deputy were not entitled
to qualified immunity in lawsuit over prisoner's successful suicide when they
knew of her prior suicide attempt and of another prisoner's successful suicide
in the same cell, which had a "blind spot" not viewable from a
control room and several places from which a prisoner could tie a sheet to hang
herself. Jacobs v. West Feliciana Sheriff's Dept., No. 99-30185, 228 F.3d 388
(5th Cir. 2000).
290:23 County policies were adequate to bar
liability for prisoner's successful suicide; appeals court points to training
program and American Correctional Association accreditation of jail. Yellow
Horse v. Pennington County, Nos. 99-2419, 99-2420, 225 F.3d 923 (8th Cir.
2000).
289:10 "Low-level" county jail
employees were not liable for prisoner's suicide after he was taken off of
suicide watch, since they relied on statements by a nurse and a social worker
that the prisoner no longer seemed suicidal; court orders further proceedings,
however, on whether county policy, which did not require consulting with a
mental health professional before ending suicide watch, was inadequate. Cills,
Estate of, v. Kaftan, 105 F. Supp. 2d 391 (D.N.J. 2000).
281:73 Federal government liable for $1.8 million
for suicide of pre-trial detainee, based on repeated failure to respond to
signs that he might be suicidal; trial judge finds that policies and training
programs were in place to help officers identify and aid suicidal prisoners,
but these policies were not followed. Jutzi-Johnson v. U.S., No. 96-C-5708,
U.S. Dist. Ct., N.D. Ill. March 29, 2000, reported in The Chicago Daily Law
Bulletin, p. 1 (March 30, 2000).
281:74 Jail employees and officials were not
liable for mentally ill detainee's death from asphyxiation which was either
suicide or an accidental death caused by his illness; while jail personnel may
have been negligent in how they treated this detainee, their conduct did not
rise to the level of "deliberate indifference" required for federal
civil rights liability. Thornton v. City of Montgomery, 78 F. Supp. 2d 1218
(M.D. Ala. 1999).
282:91 Alleged failure to train jail personnel in
suicide prevention was not the proximate cause of prisoner's death when nothing
gave jail personnel notice that he might be suicidal; decedent's own mother, a
trained psychologist, believed that he was not suicidal; factual dispute over
whether one jailor saw the noose being tied but failed to act immediately justified
denial of summary judgment on the claims against him. Ellis v. Washington
County, No. 98- 6178, 198 F.3d 225 (6th Cir. 1999).
283:107 Incident during an arrest three years
before, during which detainee tried to swallow a crack pipe and crack cocaine,
was insufficient to put jailers on notice that he had present suicidal
tendencies; defendant jail officials were entitled to qualified immunity on
lawsuit over failure to prevent detainee's suicide. Lambert v. City of Dumas,
No. 99-1081, 187 F.3d 931 (8th Cir. 1999).
279:41 Prison psychiatrists were not liable for
prisoner's suicide by overdosing on prescribed medication he hoarded, despite
their purported knowledge of his suicidal thoughts and medicine hoarding at
another facility; psychiatrists did not know that "pill line"
procedures were insufficient to prevent such hoarding. Williams v. Mehra, No.
97-1118, 186 F.3d 685 (6th Cir. 1999).
266:25 Jailer, county and sheriff were not liable
for prisoner's successful suicide in his cell; jailer correctly classified
prisoner as suicide risk and took several steps to attempt to prevent suicide,
and county and sheriff had policies in place designed to try to prevent inmate
suicide. Liebe v. Norton, #98-1163, 157 F.3d 574 (8th Cir. 1998).
273:140 Prison classification specialist and
segregation unit supervisor without specific knowledge of prisoner's prior
alleged suicide attempt were not liable for failure to prevent his successful
suicide; prison clinical psychologist who failed to place prisoner on suicide
watch, but instead referred him to psychiatrist for further evaluation did not
act with deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. Greffey v. State of
Ala. Dept. of Corrections, 996 F.Supp. 1368 (S.D. Ala. 1998).
274:154 Co. and county psychiatrist were not
liable for detainee's successful suicide after his release from custody;
placing detainee on suicide watch and taking steps to encourage him to agree to
take his medication for paranoid schizophrenia did not constitute deliberate
indifference. Collignon v. Milwaukee Co., #98-1711, 163 F.3d 982 (7th Cir.
1998).
260:124 Update: Officers were entitled to
qualified immunity in prisoner suicide case where they removed shoes with
laces, made sure detainee did not have a belt, and also took steps to ensure
that detainee could not harm herself with blanket and instructed that a close
watch be placed on her; detainee's right to be free from deliberate
indifference to suicide risk was "clearly established," but officers
acted objectively reasonably. Hare v. City of Corinth, 135 F.3d 320 (5th Cir.
1998).
[N/R] Illinois Tort Immunity Act did not protect
sheriff against allegation that he had knowledge that conditions in city jail
created a substantial risk of harm to an arrestee, but still ordered deputy to
place arrestee, who subsequently committed suicide, in city jail. Payne v.
Churchich, No. 97-3344, 161 F.3d 1030 (7th Cir. 1998).
255:42 Officers were not "deliberately
indifferent" to risk of suicide by detainee experiencing heroin
withdrawal; no signs of suicidal tendencies prior to detainee's suicide.
Richardson v. Dailey, 675 N.E.2d 787 (Mass. 1997).
258:89 City was not liable for death of
intoxicated arrestee who hung himself in his cell with his jeans; officers
acted within the scope of their employment, and performed a discretionary act
in good faith in failing to determine that the arrestee was a suicide risk;
arrestee's threat to kill himself was only heard by his cellmate and not by
officers, who were not in the cell area. Galveston, City of, v. Burns, 949
S.W.2d 881 (Tex. App. 1997).
[N/R] Private doctors and mental health providers
were not entitled to qualified immunity from lawsuit based on prisoner's
suicide; they were acting as private parties motivated by desire for profit,
rather than as governmental agents. McDuffie v. Hopper, 982 F.Supp. 817 (M.D.
Ala. 1997).
241:10 Correct legal standard for liability on
prisoner suicide was not whether jail officers "knew or should have
known" of prisoner's suicide risk, but rather whether they had
"actual knowledge of the substantial risk" and responded with
"deliberate indifference." Hare v. City of Corinth, 74 F.3d 633 (5th
Cir. 1996).
243:41 Prisoner diagnosed as potential suicide
risk by medical personnel and prescribed psychotropic drugs stated a claim for
deliberate indifference to serious medical needs by asserting that psychiatrist
at facility he was transferred to discontinued his medication without
evaluating him or reviewing medical records. Steel v. Shah, 87 F.3d 1266 (11th
Cir. 1996).
245:75 Doctor's classification of pretrial
detainee as "potentially suicidal," rather than "high risk"
for suicide was exercise of professional medical judgment and doctor was not
liable for detainee's subsequent successful suicide, since no deliberate
indifference was shown. Cole, Estate of, by Pardue v. Fromm, 94 F.3d 254 (7th
Cir. 1996).
[N/R] Suicide of prisoner after suicide watch was
called off might be the result of deliberate indifference, based on knowledge
of prior suicidal behavior. Robey v. Chester Co., 946 F.Supp. 333 (E.D. Pa.
1996).
[N/R] Law enforcement defendants were entitled to
qualified immunity in lawsuit over suicide of prisoner in city jail; no
deliberate indifference was shown. Gay v. City of Daleville, 953 F.Supp. 1315
(M.D. Ala. 1996).
234:90 Prisoner's death from swallowing bar of
soap was not foreseeable; federal trial court abused its discretion by
overturning jury verdict for correctional defendants in civil rights/wrongful
death lawsuit. Hardin v. Hayes, 52 F.3d 934 (11th Cir. 1995).
219:42 Jail employees were not entitled to
qualified immunity in suit brought by family of detainee who killed herself in
jail cell after making suicide threats to interviewing officer; detainee was
placed in isolated cell and blanket with which she hung herself was left in
cell. Hare v. City of Corinth, Ms., 36 F.3d 412 (5th Cir. 1994).
219:43 Juvenile prisoner who suffered permanent
brain damage after hanging himself with a sheet awarded $600,000 in damages
against county based on state-law negligence in failure to prevent suicide
attempt; failure to take steps to prevent such attempts because of shortage of
funds was no defense. Myers v. Co. of Lake, Ind., 30 F.3d 847 (7th Cir. 1994).
220:57 Mere fact that arrestee was intoxicated
did not give detention center notice that there was a specific risk she would
commit suicide; no "deliberate indifference" to serious medical needs
was shown. Hocker, Estate of, v. Walsh, 22 F.3d 995 (10th Cir. 1994).
221:73 Alleged violation of federal statute in
placing juvenile detainee in adult jail was not proximate cause of his suicide
attempt; federal appeals court rejects argument that juvenile detainees, as a
class, are specially susceptible to suicidal tendencies and therefore should be
specially screened. Horn v. Madison Co. Fiscal Court, 22 F.3d 653 (6th Cir.
1994).
224:122 Individual jailers were not liable for
pre-trial detainee's suicide in his cell when they did not know that he had
suicidal tendencies; federal appeals court allows claim against city for
alleged inadequate training of jailers to go forward, however. Irwin v. City of
Hemet, 27 Cal.Rptr.2d 433 (Cal.App. 1994).
225:138 Co. was not liable for suicide of two
prisoners in county jail when jail medical personnel did conduct some screening
of prisoners, thus showing no "deliberate indifference" on part of
county towards possible prisoner suicide. Tittle v. Jefferson Co. Com'n, 10
F.3d 1535 (11th Cir. en banc 1994).
225:138 Deputy sheriff's alleged statements to
prisoner that his fiancee was having "sexual intercourse" with three
men, which prisoner claimed drove him to suicide attempt, were insufficient to
state claim for violation of constitutional rights. Parsons v. Bd. Cty. Com'rs
Marshall Cty., Kan., 873 F.Supp. 542 (D. Kan. 1994).
226:155 Co. and state not entitled to
prosecutorial immunity in wrongful death lawsuit brought by deceased prisoner's
estate against county prosecutor for alleged failure to notify jail that
medical report he received indicated that prisoner had suicidal tendencies.
Smith v. Butte-Silver Bow Co., 878 P.2d 870 (Mont. 1994).
[N/R] Father, who was administrator of deceased
son's estate, had standing, either as parent or as administrator, to sue
correctional officials for damages for son's suicide while in custody. Frey v.
City of Herculaneum, Mo., 37 F.3d 1290 (8th Cir. 1994).
Jury awards $500,000 to estate and surviving
relatives of jail inmate who committed suicide while in custody; trial judge
reduces $450,000 wrongful death portion of award to $100,000 because of a
Massachusetts statutory limit on awards against governmental entities for
wrongful death. Natriello v. Flynn, 837 F.Supp. 17 (D. Mass. 1993).
Co. was not liable for suicide of young detainee
with brain damage and frequent past history of arrests; plaintiff failed to
show that county policies led to detainee's suicide. Hood v. Itawamba Co.,
Mississippi, 819 F.Supp. 556 (N.D. Miss. 1993).
City liable for $237,204 for officers' failure to
constantly monitor suicidal prisoner. Estate of Bragado v. City of Zion, U.S.
Dist. Ct., N.D. Ill., reported in Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, p. 15 (Dec. 10,
1993).
City and officers were not liable for violation
of civil rights for failing to prevent female detainee arrested for public
intoxication from hanging herself in her cell with a garden hose used to wash
down jail floors; detainee had not exhibited any suicidal tendencies; defendants
might be liable, however, under state law for negligence. Evans v. City of
Marlin, Tex., 986 F.2d 104 (5th Cir. 1993).
Texas appeals court orders new trial in jail
suicide case; trial judge improperly excluded evidence of negligent training of
jailers and negligent screening of prisoners for suicidal tendencies. Alvarado
v. City of Brownsville, 865 S.W.2d 148 (Tex. App. 1993).
Deputies at county jail could be sued for failure
to follow procedure requiring them to check frequently on suicidal prisoner,
but city officers were not liable for making decision to transfer prisoner to
county jail after he attempted suicide in city holding cell. Camps v. City of
Warner Robins, 823 F.Supp. 724 (M.D. Ga. 1993).
$450,000 settlement in suit by estate of detainee
who hung himself to death with long sock after officers prevented his attempt
to hang himself with his shirt and left him alone in cell to call ambulance.
Langton v. Town of Southington, U.S. Dist. Ct. D. Conn., Nos. 241CV00366 (PCD),
291CV00867 (PCD), Sept. 20, 1993, 37 ATLA L. Rep. 217 (Aug. 1994).
Family of suicidal intoxicated man who killed
himself in county jail receives $325,000 settlement from county in wrongful
death/civil rights lawsuit. Los Ang. Daily Jour. Verdicts & Settlements, p.
3 (March 25, 1994).
Co. and prison officials not liable for suicide
of domestic violence pre-trial detainee with alcohol problems ten minutes after
a mental health evaluation failed to find any suicidal tendencies. Herman v.
Clearfield Co., Pa., 836 F.Supp. 1178 (W.D. Pa., 1993).
Juvenile detention center was not liable for
suicide of thirteen-year-old who hung himself in his room using a bed sheet and
a shoelace; no indication of suicidal intent was communicated to the center's
personnel. Scott v. State, 618 So.2d 1053 (La. App. 1993).
Florida appeals court holds that question of
whether a detainee's suicide attempt was foreseeable should have been decided
at trial; suit by detainee who suffered brain damage after suicide attempt
reinstated. Schmelz v. Sheriff of Monroe Co., 624 So.2d 298 (Fla. App. 1993).
No liability for jail employees for failing to
prevent death of trustee prisoner who died from hanging during
"auto-erotic asphyxiation"; officer who discovered hanging body was
not deliberately indifferent in failing to attempt artificial resuscitation
when he determined that prisoner was already dead. Reed v. Woodruff Co., Ark.,
7 F.3d 808 (8th Cir. 1993).
Jury awards $500,000 to estate of jail prisoner
who hung himself in his cell while under "suicide watch"; jail
assigned other prisoner to watch prisoner under "suicide watch", and
allegedly only offered eight hour training course for correctional officers.
Natriello v. Flynn, U.S. Dist. Ct., D. Mass., No. 91-40158XX-NG, June 11, 1993,
reported in 36 ATLA L. Rep. 368 (Dec. 1993).
Co. was not liable for jail detainee's suicide;
detainee's shoelaces had previously been taken away, and it was an individual
correctional officer's one-time decision to return the laces to him which
allowed him to hang himself with them in his cell. Russell v. Knox Co., 826
F.Supp. 20 (D. Me. 1993).
Officer was not liable for detainee's death from
hanging himself with suspenders officer failed to remove; order requiring
removal of personal property was for the purpose of protecting all those in
custody and did not impose a duty to the individual prisoner. Cooper v.
Planthold, 857 S.W.2d 477 (Mo. App. E.D. 1993).
New Hampshire Supreme Court holds that detainee
who unsuccessfully attempted suicide in jail can sue city for damages based on
allegation that jailers knew of his prior suicide attempts while in custody,
yet failed to take reasonable steps to prevent another attempt. Murdock v City
of Keene, 623 A.2d 755 (N.H. 1993).
State Commission on Jail Standards was not liable
for suicide of inmate at county jail it had previously cited for violation of
its standards for adequate care for suicidal prisoners. Valles v. Texas
Commission on Jail Standards, 845 S.W.2d 284 (Tex. App. 1992).
Mother of pretrial detainee who committed suicide
could sue county for her own injuries allegedly resulting from deprivation of
the detainee's constitutional rights, but evidence did not support a claim that
the county had a policy of inadequate training of jail staff on the care of
suicidal prisoners. Rhyne v. Henderson Co., 973 F.2d 386 (5th Cir. 1992).
Texas state law does not prohibit a wrongful
death lawsuit against a county for a jail inmate's suicide while in custody.
Mutrux v. Cameron Co., Texas, 809 F.Supp. 510 (S.D. Tex. 1992).
State was not liable for drug overdose suicide of
female inmate who prison staff knew was depressed and suicidal, in absence of
any evidence of how she obtained the drugs or expert testimony showing that
prison staff's measures were not reasonable. Cockrum v. State, 843 S.W.2d 433
(Tenn. App. 1992).
City was not liable for successful suicide of DUI
arrestee in the absence of any indication that he had a strong likelihood of
taking his own life. Perkowski v. City of Detroit, 794 F.Supp. 223 (E.D. Mich.
1992).
Officer who left station, leaving detainee alone
in the cell in which he then hung himself, was not "deliberately
indifferent" to risk of suicide when detainee exhibited no signs of suicidal
tendencies; city and police chief not liable for failure to offer formal
training on suicide prevention when standard procedures required frequent
observation of detainees and training would not have aided officer in
classifying this detainee as suicide risk. Bowen v. City of Manchester, 966
F.2d 13 (1st Cir. 1992).
Co. was not liable for suicides of two jail
inmates on the basis of alleged inadequate training of jail personnel, but
might be liable on the basis of alleged "defective condition" of jail
cells - an iron bar across each cell's window from which many suicide attempts
were made. Tittle v. Jefferson Co. Commission, 966 F.2d 606 (11th Cir. 1992).
Officers were not entitled to qualified immunity
in suit over detainee's suicide attempt; detainee's prior arrests and suicide
threats raised a factual issue as to whether they actually knew of his suicidal
condition and failed to take preventive action. Hall v. Ryan, 957 F.2d 402 (7th
Cir. 1992).
Failure to prevent suicide attempt by prisoner on
"suicide watch" who tried to hang himself five minutes after officer
checked on him was, at most, negligence, and insufficient to establish a
federal civil rights claim. Schmelz v. Monroe Co., 954 F.2d 1540 (11th Cir.
1992).
Neither city or individual jail officials were
liable for failing to determine that DUI arrestee was a suicide risk or to
prevent his suicide. Barber v. City of Salem, Ohio, 953 F.2d 232 (6th Cir.
1992).
Indiana state statute did not provide immunity
from negligence claims arising from suicides of two pre-trial detainees. Tittle
v. Mahan, 583 N.E.2d 796 (Ind. 1991).
New York court overturns $77,000 negligence award
to family of 17-year-old detainee who hanged himself with his T-shirt only
eleven minutes after being placed in a holding cell; detainee's conduct did not
show suicidal tendencies. Moore v. City of Troy, 577 N.Y.S.2d 969 (A.D. 1992).
Court correctly refused to give jury instructions
that would have based civil rights liability for jail suicide on negligent
failure to detect suicidal intent or to prevent suicide. York v. City of
Detroit, 438 Mich. 744, 475 N.W.2d 346 (1991). Co. and jail officials were not
liable for detainee's jail suicide despite his earlier suicide attempt when
incarcerated there three years before. Hinkfuss v. Shawano Co., 772 F.Supp.
1104 (E.D. Wis. 1991).
City and officers liable for $1.104 million for
failure to prevent suicide of intoxicated detainee; city policy of inadequate
training on suicide prevention established basis for municipal liability.
Simmons v. City of Philadelphia, 947 F.2d 1042 (3rd Cir. 1991).
Co., sheriff and correctional officer were not
liable for failing to prevent suicide of prisoner taken off of "suicide
watch" after he told social worker he was "no longer"
contemplating killing himself. Leshore v. Co. of Worcester, 945 F.2d 471 (1st
Cir. 1991).
Failure to charge air vents, from which a
prisoner had hung himself three years earlier, did not make jail officials
liable for another prisoner's suicide when he hung himself from the same vents;
further hearings ordered on whether delay in arraignment helped cause the
death. Wayland v. City of Springdale, Ark., 933 F.2d 668 (8th Cir. 1991).
Officer's failure to turn on television camera to
view holdover cell was not "deliberate indifference"; officers were
not liable for failing to prevent prisoner's suicide. Christian v. Stanczak,
769 F.Supp. 317 (E.D. Mo. 1991).
Correctional officer may have been deliberately
indifferent to mentally disturbed detainee's suicide, if she had specific
knowledge of his suicide threats and of his behavior of headbanging. Elliott v.
Cheshire Co., N.H., 940 F.2d 7 (1st Cir. 1991).
City was not liable for suicide of prisoner when
jail authorities had no reason to anticipate that prisoner would attempt to
kill himself. Popham v. City of Talladega, 582 So.2d 541 (Ala. 1991).
Prison officials were not entitled to qualified
immunity for failing to prevent inmate's suicide after his anti-depression
medication was abruptly discontinued. Greason v. Kemp, 891 F.2d 829 (11th Cir.
1990).
Two officers liable to family of detainee who
hanged himself in jail after being taken into custody to prevent him killing
himself; county and police chief were not liable for failure to train officers
in suicide prevention. Buffington v. Baltimore Co., Md., 913 F.2d 113 (4th Cir.
1990, cert. denied, 111 S.Ct. 1106 (1991).
State has the right and duty to force feed
prisoner who wanted to starve himself to death. Dept. of Public Welfare v.
Kallinger, 580 A.2d 887 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1990).
City was not liable for suicide of detainee; even
if hourly inspections required by jail manual had been conducted, suicide in
detainee's first hour of incarceration would not have been prevented; city not
required to provide training for psychological screening of detainees for
suicidal tendencies. Burns v. City of Galveston, Texas, 905 F.2d 100 (5th Cir.
1990).
Failure to train jail personnel to screen
detainees for suicidal tendencies rejected as basis for liability for
detainee's suicide; standard procedures followed by jail personnel prior to
suicide showed lack of deliberate indifference. Popham v. City of Talladega,
908 F.2d 1561 (11th Cir. 1990).
Officers were not liable for failure to remove
intoxicated detainee's belt and shoelaces; entitled to qualified immunity for
detainee's suicide. Belcher v. Oliver, 898 F.2d 32 (4th Cir. 1990).
Jury awards $175,000 to estate of intoxicated
detainee, former mental patient, who hung himself in his cell with his
underpants. Safian v. Village of Palatine, No. 84L 10056, Cook Co. Circuit
Court, Chicago, Illinois, reported in Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, p. 3, July
31, 1990.
Sheriff and officers not liable for attempted
suicide of intoxicated detainee after they violated jail policy by failing to
remove his boot laces. Hamlin v. Kennebec Co. Sheriff's Dept., 728 F.Supp. 804
(D. Maine 1990).
City liable for failure to train officer in
suicide prevention for detainees; officer also liable for negligence in suicide
of intoxicated detainee. Simmons v. City of Philadelphia, 728 F.Supp. 352 (E.D.
Pa. 1990).
Jail warden liable for punitive damages for
ordering solitary confinement without precautions for suicidal prisoner. Lewis
v. Parish of Terrebonne, 894 F.2d 142 (5th Cir. 1990).
Officers, city, not liable for suicide of
pre-trial detainee, despite records of prior attempts and officers' failure to
remove belt. Williams v. Borough of West Chester, Pa., 891 F.2d 458 (3rd Cir.
1989).
Jury awards $1 million to family of detainee who
committed suicide in holding cell after arrest for public intoxication.
Simmons, Estate of v. City of Philadelphia, No. 87-3258, U.S. District Court,
Philadelphia, Pa., reported in Personal Injury Verdict Reviews, No. 26, P. 4
(Feb. 12, 1990).
Sheriff and jailor were entitled to qualified
immunity on suit concerning prisoner's suicide, even though medical history
sheet showed earlier suicide attempt. Rellergert v. Cape Girardieu Co., Mo.,
724 F.Supp. 662 (E.D. Mo. 1989).
Municipality was not liable for detainee's
suicide in jail cell on allegation of inadequate training of officers. Dorman
v. District of Columbia, 888 F.2d 159 (D.C. Cir. 1989).
Police Chief was not liable for suicide of
intoxicated prisoner in jail cell; no duty to install surveillance system.
Capodagli v. Wilson, 536 N.E.2d 135 (Ill. App. 1989).
Man who tried to hang himself in jail receives
$100,000 settlement on claim that officers should have taken away his belt.
Driscoll v. City of Irvine, reported in Orange Co. Register, Santa Ana, Calif.,
July 7, 1989.
Supplying a safety razor to pretrial detainee who
committed suicide did not show deliberate indifference; no liability for prisoner
who hung himself. Boyd v. Harper, 702 F.Supp. 578 (E.D. Va. 1988).
Prison officials not liable for suicide by
juvenile inmate who had made no prior threats. Edwards v. Gilbert, 867 F.2d
1271 (11th Cir. 1989).
Failure of jail officials to recognize scars on
inmate as "suicide hesitation cuts" amounted only to negligence which
could not make them liable for his suicide death. Freedman v. City of
Allentown, Pa., 853 F.2d 111 (3d Cir. 1988).
Family of man who hung himself in jail to receive
$196,700; was not placed in observation cell despite fashioning rope from shirt
earlier. Albery v. City of Euclid, Cuyahoga Co. Common Pleas, reported in
Cleveland Ohio Plain Dealer, November 30, 1988.
Mother of prisoner who starved himself to death could
not recover damages from sheriff and director of corrections absent allegations
of policy or personal involvement. Geter v. Wille, 846 F.2d 1352 (11th Cir.
1988).
Reckless indifference to a pretrial detainee's
risk of suicide can support federal civil rights claim. Colburn v. Upper Darby
Tp., 838 F.2d 663 (3d Cir. 1988).
City not liable for injuries detainee suffered
when he plunged headfirst into toilet bowl. Gordon v. City of New York, 517
N.E.2d 1331 (N.Y. 1987).
Prison not liable when inmate hung himself;
inmate's shirt was not "machinery" for purposes of tort claims act.
Silva v. State, 745 P.2d 1160 (N.M. Ap. 1986).
Allegation that prisoner was placed in separate
cell without supervision after repeated suicide threats stated claim for
"indifference" to medical needs. Seiler v. City of Bethany, 746 P.2d
699 (Okla. App. 1987).
Allegation that officers knew of detainee's
suicidal tendencies but failed to take precautions stated civil rights claim;
supervisors could be held liable for failure to provide training or establish
procedures for suicide prevention. Danese v. Asman, 670 F.Supp. 709 (E.D. Mich.
1987).
Officer's failure to remove belt of prisoner who
used it to hang himself while violation of policy, was not constitutional
violation. Gagne v. City of Galveston, 671 F.Supp. 1130 (S.D. Tex. 1987).
City could be liable for suicide of intoxicated
pretrial detainee. Beddingfield v. City of Pulaski, Tennessee, 666 F.Supp. 1064
(M.D. Tenn. 1987).
Placing intoxicated arrestee in regular cell not
a constitutional violation; no liability under federal law for suicide. Smith
v. City of Westland, 404 N.W.2d 214 (Mich. App. 1986).
Failure to follow department rule in ministerial
task does not preclude immunity. Gagne v. City of Galveston, 805 F.2d 558 (5th
Cir. 1986).
Individuals liable for breaking rules and
ignoring cries of suicide attempt. Miga v. City of Holyoke, 497 N.E.2d 1 (Mass.
1986).
Jail accused of not meeting standards. Tsosie v.
San Juan Co., Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah 5/15/86. Allegations that
understaffing and underfunding resulted in suicide states a civil rights claim.
Strandell v. Jackson Co., Ill., 634 F.Supp. 824 (S.D. Ill. 1986).
Fifth Circuit reverses and allows claim based on
allegations that a policy was responsible for suicide. Partridge v. Two Unknown
Police Officers of Houston, 791 F.2d 1182 (5th Cir. 1986).
Court reverses $1 million judgment and finds no
liability for not restraining loud arrestee. Gordon v. City of New York, 502
N.Y.S.2d 215 (A.D. 2 Dept. 1986).
One year statute of limitations for suicide by
hanging. Maurice v. Stoddard, 496 N.Y.S.2d (A.D. 3 Dept. 1985).
On the third time hearing this case, court rules
police chief not entitled to individual immunity from liability for jail
hanging. Young v. City of Ann Arbor, 382 N.W.2d 785 (Mich. App. 1985).
Jail hanging results in $2.4 million award. Crime
Control Digest, Vol. 20 No. 29, July 21, 1986; and the Detention Reporter, Number
33 July 1986.
Parents suit over son's suicide within 30 minutes
of confinement to continue. Strandberg v. City of Helena, 791 F.2d 744 (9th
Cir. 1986).
Judgment for $75,000 against state reversed.
Hampton v. State of Michigan, 377 N.W.2d 920 (Mich. App. 1985).
Shackling inmate thought to be suicidal may have
been improper. Wells v. Franzen, 777 F.2d 1258 (7th Cir. 1985).
Intoxicated man hung himself inside cell. Holland
v. Breen, 623 F.Supp. 284 (D.C. Mass. 1985).
CPR training qualifies one as expert on rescue
attempts; no professional license required. Hake v. Manchester, Tp., 486 A.2d
836 (N.J. 1985).
Officials accused of not checking past jail
records indicating suicidal tendencies. Partidge v. Two Unknown Police Officers,
751 F.2d 1448 (5th Cir. 1985).
Jailers hearing suicide threats not grounds for
liability. Estate of Cartwright v. City of Concord, Cal., 618 F.Supp. 722 (D.C.
Cal. 1985).
Jury to decide deputies' negligence in jail
suicide following family's warnings. Hemly v. Bebber, 335 S.E.2d 182 (N.C. App.
1985).
Real cause of suicide is that detainee no longer
wished to live, not any negligence on the part of officials; unusual dress not
reason to suspect suicide. Horne v. Beason, 331 S.E.2d 342 (S.C. 1985).
Failure to admit medical review commission's
report grounds for new trial; arrestee hung himself with socks. Dozlowski v.
City of Amsterdam, 488 N.Y.S.2d 862 (A.D. 3 Dept. 1985).
Acts or omissions could hold city liable for
suicide; officers accused of beating mentally ill arrestee. Madden v. City of
Meriden, 602 F.Supp. 1160 (D. Conn. 1985).
Intoxicated arrestee's suicide blamed on
inadequate jail design and supervision. Lightbody v. Town of Hampton, 618
F.Supp. 6 (D.C. N.H. 1984).
Detroit settles for $275,000 for suicide of
arrestee who was initially stopped for no apparent reason. Martin v. City of
Detroit, Detroit Free Press, 1/22/85.
Refusal to listen to boys screams could result in
liability for his suicide. Brewer v. Perrin, 349 N.W.2d 198 (Mich. App. 1984).
Officials could be liable for inmate suicide with
shoestring. Guglielmoni v. Alexander, 583 F.Supp. 512 (E.D. Pa. 1984).
Mental inability to bring suit tolls statute of
limitations. Smith by and Through Smith v. City of Reno, 580 F.Supp. 591 (D.
Nev. 1984).
Failure to take extra precautions for intoxicated
prisoner could result in liability for suicide. Kanayurak v. Northslope
Borough, 677 P.2d 893 (Alaska 1984).
Use of dog during arrest may constitute excessive
force resulting in officers and city being liable; city and county may be
liable for arrestee's suicide attempt resulting from poor county jail
conditions. Soto v. City of Sacramento, 567 F.Supp. 662 (E.D. Cal. 1983).
No liability for officer's failure to handcuff
arrestee who shot himself when helping them search house for stolen items.
Langford v. City of Leesville, 442 So.2d 1375 (La. App. 1983).
No liability for jail suicide; no right for
inmate to make telephone call to lawyer. State Bank of St. Charles v. Camic,
712 F.2d 1140 (7th Cir. 1983). No liability to police chief for arrestee's
suicide. Young v. City of Ann Arbor, 336 N.W.2d 24 (Mich. App. 1983).
No liability for jail suicide committed with
belt. Dezort v. Village of Hinsdale, 441 N.E.2d 367 (Ill. App. 1982).
Recovery under Section 1983 on theory of
negligence denied to parent of suicide victim. Meshkov v. Abington Township,
517 F.Supp. 1280 (E.D. Pa. 1981).
Florida sheriff who violated administrative rule
held liable for inmate's suicide. Robert v. Stokley, 388 So.2d 1267 (Fla. App.
1980).
Florida Appellate Court rules that sheriff's
office was not liable for suicide of an inmate who hung himself with his belt.
Guice v. Enfinger, 389 So.2d 270 (Fla. 1980).
Michigan court dismisses Section 1983 suit by
relatives of prisoner who hung himself while incarcerated in city jail. Moomey
v. City of Holland, 490 F.Supp. 188 (1980).
Inmate's suicide attempt is not contributory
negligence; state corrections manual is inadmissible on issue of county jail
official's duty to inmate. Cole v. Multnomah Co., 592 P.2d 221 (Ore. App.
1979).
Court orders new trial in civil rights suit due
to possible altering of cell check log after inmate committed suicide.
Swietlowich v. Co. of Buck, 610 F.2d 1157 (3rd Cir. 1979).
Court orders retrial in action brought for
attempted suicide of youth at correctional facility; state not liable in money
damages for constitutional violations. Figueroa v. State, 604 P.2d 1198
(Hawaii, 1978).
Jail officials entitled to instruction on
decedent's contributory negligence and on intervening causation in wrongful
death suit. Harrell v. City of Belen, 603 P.2d 722 (N.M. 1979).
Supreme Court holds that a law enforcement agency
cannot avoid liability for a suicide by placing a prisoner in a county jail,
under a contractual arrangement. Logue v. U.S., #72-656, 412 U.S. 521 (1973).
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