Wayne County, OH

Wayne County, OH: (Sep-06-07) The family of Joel Hollenbaugh, a Barberton man who was found dead in his Wayne County cell, brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the county, alleging that the death occurred after jail officials ignored his complaints of chest pains. The suit claimed that Hollenbaugh, 46, was found dead in his Wayne County Jail cell that he shared with at least three other inmates. He had been arrested in May 2003 on suspicion of drunken driving following a car crash. Legal counsel stated that Hollenbaugh was arrested by Wooster police and brought to the jail at about 6:30 p.m and was complaining of chest pains at that time. At the jail, Hollenbaugh was in and out of consciousness and at one point; jail officials picked him up and carried him to a Breathalyzer machine to gauge his level of drunkenness. Hollenbaugh was unable to supply a breath sample. Despite his pleas to go to the hospital, reports stated that Hollenbaugh was placed in a cell. And despite pleas from cellmates concerned over his condition, no one checked on Hollenbaugh after 10 p.m. The man was found dead the next morning at about 7 a.m. Medical officials say he died of a heart attack at about 11:30 the night before.

In a settlement reached, the county agreed to pay the estate of Hollenbaugh $500,000 and the city of Wooster will pay another $200,000 under the agreement reached in US District Court in Cleveland. The $700,000 civil lawsuit settlement ends about four years of litigation that also included one jail official being put on trial for dereliction of duty. [OHIO NEWS: INMATE HEART ATTACK]

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Published on Sep-10-07