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Man sues county after jail suicide attempts in Pittsburgh
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A Crafton man who tried to kill himself in the Allegheny County Jail in 2009 filed a lawsuit against the county Wednesday claiming he should have been recognized as a suicide risk upon another incarceration in 2011 but instead was put in a position to attempt suicide again, resulting in permanent disability.
"After someone has hung himself one time, the jail ought to take more stringent measures to make sure it doesn't happen a second time," said Gary Lang, an attorney for the man and his mother.
Vincent J. Demor, 43, has a record of driving under the influence, drug possession and theft. The complaint in U.S. District Court, filed on behalf of Mr. Demor and his mother, quotes medical records that describe him as a heroin abuser.
In 2009, the complaint said, he was jailed and then later transported to UPMC Mercy after a cellmate found him hanging by a sheet. He was hospitalized for three days and later released from jail.
In February 2011, he was jailed for a parole violation and put in a "'suicide prevention' pod," the suit said. Nonetheless, on the second day of his stay he was "found hanged in his cell," it said.
As a result of anoxic brain injury, he has been institutional ever since and will remain so for the rest of his life, the complaint said. Mr. Lang said Medicaid, and thus taxpayers, will be paying for his care as long as he lives.
The complaint said that if jail staff were properly trained and supervised, then Mr. Demor's history in 2009 would have prompted them to take more precautions to prevent a repeat suicide attempt. By failing to prevent Mr. Demor's second attempt, the county violated Mr. Demor's rights including his freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, it said, demanding compensatory damages.
A county spokeswoman declined comment, citing a policy against speaking on litigation.
By Rich Lord
A Crafton man who tried to kill himself in the Allegheny County Jail in 2009 filed a lawsuit against the county Wednesday claiming he should have been recognized as a suicide risk upon another incarceration in 2011 but instead was put in a position to attempt suicide again, resulting in permanent disability.
"After someone has hung himself one time, the jail ought to take more stringent measures to make sure it doesn't happen a second time," said Gary Lang, an attorney for the man and his mother.
Vincent J. Demor, 43, has a record of driving under the influence, drug possession and theft. The complaint in U.S. District Court, filed on behalf of Mr. Demor and his mother, quotes medical records that describe him as a heroin abuser.
In 2009, the complaint said, he was jailed and then later transported to UPMC Mercy after a cellmate found him hanging by a sheet. He was hospitalized for three days and later released from jail.
In February 2011, he was jailed for a parole violation and put in a "'suicide prevention' pod," the suit said. Nonetheless, on the second day of his stay he was again "found hanged in his cell," it said.
As a result of anoxic brain injury, he has been institutional ever since and will remain so for the rest of his life, the complaint said. Mr. Lang said Medicaid, and thus taxpayers, will be paying for his care as long as he lives.
The complaint said that if jail staff were properly trained and supervised, then Mr. Demor's history in 2009 would have prompted them to take more precautions to prevent a repeat suicide attempt. By failing to prevent Mr. Demor's second
First Published November 8, 2012 12:00 am
