CHARLESTON – The daughter of a deceased Ohio man says poor medical treatment in jail led to her father’s death.
Colleen Considine, on behalf of the estate of Timothy J. Considine, filed her complaint February 8 in Kanawha Circuit Court against the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, DCR employee Aaron Johnson and unnamed correctional officers.
"This is just another in a long line of senseless deaths at the hands of the state and its management at Southern Regional Jail," attorney L. Dante diTrapano told The West Virginia Record.
According to the complaint, Timothy J. Considine was 74 at the time of his incarceration at SRJ in Raleigh County on November 29, 2021. The Akron, Ohio, resident was jailed after having been found guilty of leaving the scene of an accident involving injury and/or death.
“Considine was denied life-saving medications, denied appropriate medical care and left to languish for weeks until he was so ill he developed sepsis with end-stage multi-organ failure,” the complaint states. “The callous and indifferent treatment Mr. Considine received from both correctional officers and medical staff at SRJ was ultimately a death sentence.
“Sadly, Mr. Considine’s fate is not unique. Just simply being incarcerated in a West Virginia jail – especially SRJ – has been a death sentence to far too many.”
When he was jailed, Considine’s medical pre-screening noted his history of COPD and high blood pressure. He also reported he currently was having chest pains and/or shortness of breath. His blood pressure and pulse rate both were high, and he was ordered to be transferred to the medical unit for observation.
According to the complaint, Considine saw a Dr. Rashid a few times in December 2021 and January 2022. On February 3, 2022, Considine tested positive for COVID-19. On February 5, he weight was 110 pounds, which was down 14 pounds since he was first jailed a little more than two months prior.
On February 8, 2022, a nurse reported she and another nurse assisted Considine after he had defacated himself, according to the complaint. The nurse also reported that Considine appeared to be confused, didn’t realize he had soiled himself and was having trouble breathing. His oxygen saturation level was very low as was his pulse.
Considine was ordered to go to the emergency room at 2:52 p.m., but EMS wasn’t called until more than an hour later. When they arrived, Considine was in respiratory distress. He arrived at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital at 4:36 p.m. and presented with difficulty breathing, sepsis and multi-organ failure.
“Considine’s respiratory function was so bad, he had to be intubated,” the complaint states. “Considine was diagnosed at BARH with severe sepsis, acute kidney failure, acute renal failure and a right pneumothorax (collapsed lung).”
Considine died the next day.
The estate accuses the defendants of deliberate indifference, conspiracy to deprive him of his rights, failure to intervene/bystander liability, negligence, gross negligence, malicious conduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, a tort of outrage, common law civil conspiracy, negligent hiring, negligent supervision, negligent training and negligent retention.
It seeks compensatory damages for Considine’s pain and suffering, medical expenses and other recoverable losses as well as pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The estate is being represented by L. Dante diTrapano and Amanda J. Davis of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston and by W. Jesse Forbes of Forbes Law Offices in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 24-C-131