CHARLESTON – A widow is seeking damages from the medical providers of inmates at West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority facilities after her husband committed suicide while incarcerated.
Brenda Riffe, as the personal representative of the estate of Richard Riffe, filed a complaint Sept. 25 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Primecare Medical of West Virginia, Primecare Medical Inc., PSIMED Inc., et al. alleging negligence and other counts.
According to the complaint, Richard Riffe was incarcerated at the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority's South Central Regional Jail in South Charleston. The suit states he was diagnosed with mental illness and was addicted to alcohol, and was arrested and incarcerated on Sept. 25, 2015. The suit states that on Sept. 28, 2015, Richard Riffe committed suicide by hanging himself inside his cell.
The plaintiff holds Primecare Medical of West Virginia, Primecare Medical Inc., PSIMED Inc., et al. responsible because the defendants allegedly failed to follow well-established mental health treatment protocols, failed to properly screen for suicide risk and prevention and failed to initiate suicide watch.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensation for all damages, plus interest, attorney's fees, costs and such other just and equitable relief. She is represented by William C. Forbes and W. Jesse Forbes of Forbes Law Offices PLLC in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer F. Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 17-C-1337