Man suffered 4 days as jail staff watched, lawsuit says. He died on his 30th birthday
A jail made medics wait for nine minutes before they could respond to a man who went into cardiac arrest, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his mother.
Sean Riordan was days away from his 30th birthday when medics found him unresponsive at the Erie County Holding Center in Buffalo, New York, on June 5, 2022, the lawsuit filed Tuesday, June 13, in New York Supreme Court says.
Riordan’s heart stopped functioning properly “after suffering for four-days in plain view of his jailers,” the complaint says.
Staff witnessed Riordan persistently vomit, fall, experience tremors, sweat, have seizures, become agitated and progressively delirious — all classic signs of severe alcohol withdrawal, according to the complaint.
Days after medics rushed Riordan to the emergency room, he was declared brain dead and ultimately taken off life support when he turned 30 on June 14, 2022, the complaint says.
His mother is suing Erie County, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia and sheriff’s office employees over his death.
She accuses jail staff of failing to provide Riordan with the medical care he desperately needed.
“Sean Riordan was charged with a minor traffic violation and did not deserve to be sentenced to death by medical neglect,” Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP attorney Melissa Wischerath, who’s representing Riordan’s mother in the case, said in a statement.
“We are supposed to trust jail systems to keep people alive and safe, so they can have their day in Court while awaiting a trial,” she said.
Peter Anderson, the press secretary for the county executive, declined a request for comment from McClatchy News on June 14, citing the pending litigation.
McClatchy News contacted the sheriff’s office for comment and didn’t receive an immediate response.
In a statement to WIVB-TV, Garcia said “on behalf of the entire Sheriff’s Office, and from me personally, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the Riordan family for their loss.”
Riordan’s cause of death was determined as “chronic ethanolism,” also known as alcohol use disorder, Garcia told the TV station, which first reported the lawsuit.
“I anticipate that the full facts and circumstances of Sean Riordan’s death will come to light during the impending proceedings,” Garcia added, according to the outlet.
In a report, the Erie County Medical Examiner accused jail staff of not “adequately” treating Riordan’s symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, according to the Buffalo News. However, her report said the circumstances of his death didn’t constitute “criminal neglect.”
‘He never came home’
Before Riordan was detained in the jail’s “detox” unit with other men experiencing substance withdrawals on June 2, 2022, he had a medical history of asthma and alcohol use disorder, the complaint says.
Within hours of booking, a jail nurse is accused of not taking Riordan seriously as he threw up blood and asked for medical help, according to the complaint.
The nurse told Riordan he “was fine” and said “this is what you get for drinking a pint of vodka a day,” the complaint says.
The only assistance the nurse gave him was a garbage can to throw up in, according to the complaint.
Recognizing early symptoms of alcohol withdrawal is “crucial,” according to a paper published Aug. 22 on delirium tremens (severe alcohol withdrawal) in the National Library of Medicine.
Not doing so can prove fatal, the report said.
“As Sean’s symptoms grew even worse, defendants, all employees of Erie County, watched as he continued to become increasingly delirious,” the complaint says.
Instead of giving Riordan medical care, jail staff are accused of using excessive and unlawful force in handling him, as well as illegally isolating or restraining him, according to the complaint. This injured Riordan, the complaint says.
The medical examiner’s report documented observed blunt force injuries on Riordan’s body, according to the Buffalo News. The report didn’t offer a potential explanation for these injuries.
By the time an ambulance was called for Riordan on June 5 after he went into cardiac arrest, it was too late despite medics’ “extraordinary” efforts to save him, the complaint says.
“He never came home,” the complaint says.
According to the lawsuit, Riordan wouldn’t have died if jail staff medically intervened on his behalf.
His mother is suing on several counts, including medical negligence under state law, wrongful death, violations of the Fourteenth Amendment and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Alcoholism is considered a disability — specifically a physical or mental impairment — under the ADA.
Since Riordan’s death, his family has “suffered loss of love, society, protection, comfort, companionship, and consortium,” the complaint says.
The lawsuit demands a trial by jury and makes several requests, including economic and non-economic damages.
According to Wischerath, Riordan is one of 32 people who have died in the custody of Erie County since 2005.
The county medical examiner recommended in her report that the jail needs “intensive education and training of corrections staff in recognizing the signs and symptoms of acute ethanol withdrawal,” according to the Buffalo News.
This story was originally published June 14, 2023 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Man suffered 4 days as jail staff watched, lawsuit says. He died on his 30th birthday."
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