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Partial settlement OK’d in inmate’s death
By Ed Runyan
warren
The Trumbull County Probate Court has approved the $250,000 partial settlement of a wrongful-death suit filed by the estate of a county jail inmate who died in custody.
The settlement releases Trumbull County officials named in the suit such as Sheriff Thomas Altiere, the county commissioners and numerous jail supervisers and employees.
The suit was filed in Youngstown federal court by the estate of Kurt Platzer, a 32-year-old Warren man who was pronounced dead after being taken to a local hospital from the jail in June 2009.
The lawsuit, filed by Joan Padula, Platzer’s mother, said Platzer suffered seizures in the jail due to advanced alcohol withdrawal and suffered a skull fracture from banging his head against a cell wall.
The suit said jail officials used a Taser on Platzer after he refused to cooperate with corrections officers. Three hours later, he stopped breathing, the lawsuit said.
The use of the Taser was “completely unreasonable,” and failure of jail staff to provide appropriate medical treatment was medical malpractice, the lawsuit said.
The settlement resolves complaints regarding the jail staff’s treatment of Platzer, including the use of the Taser, according to a Probate Court document.
The County Risk Sharing Authority, the county’s insurance carrier, will pay the $250,000 settlement, minus the county’s $25,000 deductible.
The county and Padula will pay their own costs associated with the lawsuit, the settlement agreement said. Padula’s out-of-pocket expenses were $8,924, including a $5,000 retainer fee for the services of Dr. Cyril Wecht, a Pittsburgh attorney and county coroner who has testified in numerous high-profile death cases.
The settlement has no effect on the lawsuit’s medical malpractice claims against Dr. Philip Malvasi and his staff, documents say. Dr. Malvasi is covered by his own insurance, not the county’s insurance.