North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Accuses Buncombe County Jail of Failing to Provide Diabetic Inmate with Medical Care
A North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit says the Sheriff’s Office in Buncombe County ignored an inmate’s screams of pain and cries for medical help. Marvis Gail Davidson, 43, died on July 8, 2004 in her jail cell.
Davidson, who had diabetes, was jailed for a probation violation on June 30, 2004. The lawsuit contends that jail officials knew about her medical condition yet they ignored her cries for help (in addition to the other inmates calling out that Davidson be given medical attention), threatened to discipline her for creating a disturbance, and exhibited an “indifference” and “disregard” for Davidson’s well-being and safety. At one point, the lawsuit says that Davidson was “writhing and screaming on the floor in pain.”
She was waiting to see a nurse practitioner at the time of her death. Her autopsy results show that “dead gut,” often associated with diabetes, was her cause of death. In 2005, a worker at the jail filed a complaint about the way the Davidson was treated.
Depending on the circumstances surrounding a wrongful death, family members in North Carolina may be entitled to recover compensation for:
• Medical care to treat condition that led to the death.
• Pain and suffering.
• Funeral costs.
• Damages that would have been owed to the decedent had he or she survived the injuries.
• Lost wages.
• Loss of protection, care, society, companionship, guidance, comfort, and advice of the deceased.
• Punitive damages.
Sheriff’s Office sued over 2004 prisoner death, Mountain Express, August 27, 2008
Lawsuit faults jailers in death, Citizen-Times.com, August 14, 2008
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