In a still pending case, a California county and some of its medical providers have agreed to pay $5.1 million to the widow and son of a mentally ill man who died in jail while awaiting transfer to a state hospital.  The man who died had cared for his family while he was properly medicated for over ten years. When his medication went awry, he broke a law and ended up in jail, charged with a crime. The county superior court found that he was incompetent to stand trial, and the court ordered him to be admitted to a state hospital for restorative psychiatric treatment. Unfortunately, the state hospital violated court orders and clear law to promptly admit and treat him due to their longstanding practice of violating the rights of inmates ordered to their care.
Jail Death Attorneys Fight for Lawful Treatment of Mentally Ill
While he languished in jail, the jail failed to provide him necessary psychiatric care, failed to protect him, and he died at the hands of another mentally ill inmate. The case continues against the California Department of State Hospitals and Napa State Hospital.
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