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Tippecanoe County Jail Inmate Receives Incorrect Medical Treatment
Posted by: Steve Wagner
June 14, 2010

Lekeia Brown was admitted to the Tippecanoe County Jail on May 18, 2010, for unpaid child support. During the admitting process the nurse had to confiscate her seizure medication which she must take daily. The nurse then gave her a different medication three (3) times stronger than what she had been taking. Lekeia didn't know her prescription was switched. Immediately, she noticed a difference in the way she felt. Lekeia started having hot flashes, urinating every 10-15 minutes, experiencing symptoms of dehydration as well as migraines. That was just the beginning. She then saw blisters on her face and felt them in her mouth. Lekeia complained to the nurses on multiple occasions about her symptoms, but nothing was done. Since she looked fine on the outside they didn't bother to check her out.

On June 5, 2010 Lekeia Brown was admitted to St. Elizabeth East Hospital because her eyes were swollen shut and she couldn't see. The next day, June 6, 2010, she was transferred to Methodist Hospital in downtown Indianapolis where she is still undergoing treatment. Lekeia is lying in a hospital bed literally burning from the inside out, wondering if she will ever see again.

Lekeia is now suffering from what is called Stevens Johnsons Syndrome, which is a form of erythema multiforme and can be life threatening if not treated right away. This syndrome has a mortality rate of 5%, affects more adult women than men, and can cause permanent damage including blindness.

Over the past ten years, attorney Stephen M. Wagner has handled numerous cases against county Jails and Indiana state correctional facilities across Indiana. He has reached significant settlements in Allen County, Johnson County, and Pulaski County in cases where the medical care provided to detainees was alleged to be inadequate. Inadequate medical care in jails can arise in numerous situations such as prescription errors, failure to monitor for alcohol withdrawal and DT's, and failure to transfer inmates to outside specialists for evaluation. Mr. Wagner understands that these cases are tough because the public tends to have little sympathy for jail inmates. However, Mr. Wagner notes, "People who are arrested have rights, too. They have the right to emergency medical care and should be treated with respect and dignity. If jail nurses and other personnel are deliberately indifferent to serious medical conditions, the jail personnel involved can be sued for violating the inmate's constitutional rights." Mr. Wagner handles such civil rights cases throughout the state and can be reached for a free consultation at (800) 792-0332 or in the web at http://www.injuryattorneys.com/.

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Hamilton County Indiana Jail Death
Posted by: Steve Wagner
May 07, 2010

Curtis Christopher Tschohl, 39, was found dead in his cell in the Hamilton County jail on Sunday, May 2^nd, 2010. He had been arrested 12 days prior to his death on a drunk-driving charge. While deputies at the jail tried to resuscitate Tschohl, he was unresponsive and transferred to Riverview Hospital where he was pronounced dead. It was reported that Mr. Tschohl was going through alcohol withdrawal in the days before his death.

This unfortunate in-custody death raises questions regarding whether the Mr. Tschohl was suffering from the most serious form of alcohol withdrawal, delirium tremens or "DT's." Although only a small percentage of individuals suffer from DT's, it is a potentially deadly condition which requires immediate medical assistance. Hallucinations, tremors, excessive sweating, and seizures are some of the more obvious symptoms. Because the risk of DT's is well known to jailors who frequently take into custody alcoholics who are forced to go "cold turkey," proper medical screening and monitoring is needed to prevent such deaths. If jail policy is not followed, or even worse if correctional officers ignore the warning signs because they don't care, detainees will needlessly die.

Attorney Stephen M. Wagner handles civil rights claims against jails if there is deliberate indifference to a serious medical condition such as DT's. Mr. Wagner has handled these difficult cases throughout the state of Indiana, often on referral from other attorneys. In the last five years, Mr. Wagner has personally handled civil rights death cases resulting in the largest voluntary settlement payments ever in four Indiana counties. Call today for a free evaluation of your case. (800) 792-0332.

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Taser Suffers a Rare Loss in Court - by: Mike Nizza
Posted by: Jason Reese
September 10, 2008

Despite a steady stream of negative news coverage, Taser International's business has sailed above it all, rolling with the punches before coming out on top of a growing industry.

To the frustration of the company's many critics, orders keep coming in, from cities like Las Vegas and even from a country that remains nameless. The brand's dominance in the electric-shock weapons market prompts comparisons to Kleenex's hold on the facial-tissue market segment. Academic studies have supported the company's claims that its products are safe to use. And incidents that hit the papers do not always engender outrage: some are even hilarious. New product lines from the company seek to lure female consumers as well.

Perhaps most importantly, the company has been remarkably successful inside the courtroom. With 69 straight trial victories, according to one count, Taser had assembled a nearly unmatchable record - 3 more wins than this year's much-vaunted Boston Celtics, with none of the embarrassing losses.

None until Friday evening, that is, when an unfavorable verdict represented the first chink in the taser-proof body armor. From The Herald of Montery County, Calif., the local paper on the case:

A federal jury has held Taser International responsible for the death of a Salinas man in U.S. District Court in San Jose on Friday, and awarded his family more than $6 million in punitive and compensatory damages.

An attorney for the family called the verdict a "landmark decision," and indicated that it was the first time Taser International had been held responsible for a death or injury linked to its product.

During trading on Monday, the company's stock dropped almost 12 percent. "Investors will assume heightened operating risk in the Taser model in the short-term," one analyst told Barron's, adding that shrinking police budgets also threatened business. Bloomberg News reported last month that more than half of Taser's top 10 shareholders sold some of their shares this year.

Meanwhile, Taser is trying mightily to blunt the impact of the verdict and reassure Wall Street. Unlike the more cut-and-dried headlines seen on some news reports, the company stressed the nuances of the verdict, that the product was only found to be one of several contributing factors in the man's death, and not the main one. In its news release, titled "Jury Finds Extended Taser Device Application 15 Percent Responsible for Arrest Related Death," the company's general counsel, Doug Klint, vowed to appeal the jury's decision and to vindicate its product:

We however do not feel that the verdict is supported by the facts including the testimony of the world class experts who testified on our behalf with scientific and medical evidence. Our commitment to continue to defend our life-saving products and to support law enforcement remains unchanged.

The news release also sought to reassure its customers, stressing that the police officers in the case were "exonerated for their actions" and that "all parties, including the plaintiff, agreed that the Taser devices were the best option available to these officers."

Luckily, the company soon received a fortuitous boost in New York City. As The New York Times reported this morning, the New York Police Department is being urged by consultants to use Tasers more often, and avoid the kind of "reflexive shooting" incidents that led to the death of Sean Bell in 2006.

As Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly reviews to the recommendations from the Rand Corporation, investors will be waiting to see if he's inspired to sign a big purchase order from the largest police force in the country.

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Taser handed first loss in stun gun wrongful death lawsuit
Posted by: Jason Reese
September 10, 2008

Taser International Inc. was deemed partially responsible for the 2005 death of a Northern California man, resulting in a damage award of more than $6.2 million. The verdict, announced June 6, represents the first case lost by Scottsdale-based Taser (Nasdaq:TASR). The jury in the U.S. District Court case found Taser 15 percent responsible in the death of Robert C. Heston, while Heston himself was 85 percent responsible. Heston was struck three times by Salinas, Calif., police officers using a Taser stun gun, and the lawsuit argued that the shocks combined with the fact he was intoxicated with methamphetamine caused his death.

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