Man's arrested for having a stroke while driving, slips into a coma while untreated in jail,

[pnwmom]

Last edited Tue Jul 30, 2013, 09:53 PM - Edit history (1)

and eventually dies. Family gets a pathetic settlement.

And a for-profit jail is involved, of course.

Why was he arrested? Because the stroke victim failed to follow police commands to get out of his car.

Edited to add the original article from the Tampa Bay paper, which includes a video.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/inmates-untreated-fatal-stroke-results-in-1-million-settlement-by/2130278

SNIP

Hicks did not receive a medical screening, but was put in a cell where he lay facedown on the floor or tried to crawl using the one working side of his body. On the night of May 12, soaked in his own urine, his brain choked of blood, he was at last taken to Tampa General Hospital and diagnosed with an ischemic stroke. He slipped into a coma and died within three months.

The troubling story of Hicks, a popular baseball coach and former employee of the Hillsborough County School District, is illuminated in court records that describe jail officials' hefty payout to his children as well as ongoing litigation against other agencies. Internal Sheriff's Office memos and jail surveillance video largely corroborate the account in legal documents.

The failure to provide potentially life-saving treatment for Hicks as he suffered the early stages of a stroke raises questions about the quality of medical care in Hillsborough County jails, where for years a South Florida company has held a lucrative contract to treat prisoners.

That company, Armor Correctional Health Services Inc., paid $800,000 to Hicks' estate, according to an out-of-court settlement approved in February by a probate judge. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office paid an additional $200,000.

SNIP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/29/allen-daniel-hicks-dead-stroke-inmate-investigation_n_3671121.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

The Tampa Bay Times reports on the circumstances surrounding Allen Daniel Hicks' last days:

Hicks, 51, was arrested in May 2012 after veering off Interstate 275 in Tampa. He was booked into jail without a medical screening, rambling incoherently and dragging his left leg.

More than a full day passed — during much of which Hicks lay on the floor of his cell or tried to crawl using only his right limbs — before he was taken to Tampa General Hospital and immediately diagnosed with a severe ischemic stroke. He slipped into a coma and died months later."

SNIP


Now the state's health department is launching an investigation into Hicks' death which, the Times reports, will largely focus on the actions of Armor Correctional Health Services Inc., a private company that has been contracted to take care of Hillsborough prisoners.