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Melvin Bush (Storms Dworak law firm).
The daughter of a Minnesota man who died in custody from a perforated ulcer has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit, alleging jailers and a nurse contractor blamed drug withdrawals and ignored the man’s pleas for help.
Melvin Tyrone Bush, 59, was a detainee at the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center in Rochester, Minnesota. He died on March 5, 2023, from acute complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer — a serious medical condition that required prompt and appropriate care, according to the lawsuit filed by his daughter, Areryana Bush.
“We’re just deeply heartbroken,” she said. “We need providers who can provide the care that is needed and be able to distinguish the difference between withdrawal and serious conditions.”
“Once again, we have an inmate staring death in the face and pleading for their lives,” Bush’s attorney Jeff Storms said, referring to another inmate death case he handled.
“There appears to be a pattern in correctional health care nationwide of brushing aside serious and deadly conditions as simply withdrawal, which can in and of itself be deadly,” Storms said. “Jail should be a first step towards recovery for someone suffering from addiction, not a death sentence.”
The lawsuit was filed against Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Inc. (ACH), the health care provider for the jail, a nurse, two Olmsted County deputies and Olmsted County.
“Plaintiff’s arguments in the press are an improper attempt to poison the jury before the Defendants have an opportunity to respond. The medical defendants provided conscientious, appropriate care for Melvin Bush, as will be borne out through the litigation process,” said Jessica Young, president and CEO of ACH.
The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment.
The events leading to Bush’s death began after Bush was booked into jail on March 1, 2023, on suspicion of violating a domestic abuse no-contact order, court documents said. During his short time in custody, he told deputies and a nurse he had severe stomach pain. He had stopped eating and refused medication, according to the complaint. At one point, he did not even want to get out of bed when a nurse came through, the lawsuit said.
At another point, he used the intercom to call the control room about the pain, telling jailers “he needed to see a doctor ASAP,” the lawsuit said.
A nurse checked on him and noted green vomit stains in his cell, indicating he was vomiting bile, the court documents said.
The nurse allegedly took some vitals and told him he was “simply suffering from withdrawals” and had him take the mild withdrawal medications that he had previously declined, the documents said.
The nurse wrote in her chart that “[e]vidence of withdrawal symptoms very apparent as there was old vomit on the floor and diarrhea in the commode,” according to the lawsuit.
At one point after Bush complained again of pain, a deputy told him that “he needed to let the medications set in,” the lawsuit said.
Even inmates tried to signal to jailers about Bush’s pain.
“I think the guy up in I-7 needed a doctor,” one said, the complaint states. “He was calling for help.”
After Bush again told a deputy his stomach pain was getting worse and the medication wasn’t helping, the deputy allegedly responded, “Medical said you’re just withdrawing. Just try to give the medication some time to work.”
“No, it’s not working,” Bush responded. “I just need medical down here, I need to see them. I need to see them now.”
Deputies finally contacted the nurse again.
Bush told the nurse, “[i]t feels like needles and knifes [sic] stabbing my belly,” according to the complaint.
Bush was found not breathing at around 4:30 p.m. on March 5, 2023, during a routine well-being check, the Olmstead County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
The deputy summoned help and tried to resuscitate Bush, but he was declared dead at a hospital.
“We extend our condolences to Mr. Bush’s family and friends upon their loss,” the press release said. “The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office is also supporting our staff currently in accordance with our normal procedures. No detention deputies are on administrative leave.”