Potter County Pays $400,000 To Settle Wrongful Death Lawsuit of Jailed Mentally Challenged Inmate
Potter County will pay $400,000 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of a mentally challenged person who died in the jail. Michael Dick was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and generalized anxiety disorder in 1999. He had been sentenced to eight years' probation in 2000 as part of his conviction for intoxicated assault with a motor vehicle. Dick's attorney sent a notice to the county jail warning jail officials of his mental condition, and that he required special attention at the jail. Later he was arrested for a probation violation and taken to a hospital and discharged to county custody, with orders to return if he experienced abdominal pain, dizziness or fainting.
According to court documents Dick never returned to the hospital despite experiencing the symptoms. Jail staffers removed Dick from his prescribed Xanax, allegedly causing withdrawal and he suffered a seizure causing him to slip and fall and hit his head. At that point he should have been taken to the hospital to receive medical treatment but was not. The jailers reported Dick claimed to hear voices and acted erratically and he was found dead in his cell a short time later. In a twist, a county-ordered autopsy revealed he died of a perforated ulcer. But a private autopsy ordered by his family also indicated he received traumatic injury to his abdomen while in custody
