This case study draws on real-life litigation to illustrate how courts and juries evaluate the actions of correctional health care and security staff in the aftermath of a patient suicide. The discussion begins with an overview of the state and federal legal claims that can be brought against individual, government, and corporate defendants. It then examines the human and systemic failures that contributed to the incident. Next, the case is used to explore how the same set of facts can produce different legal outcomes in jail versus prison settings. Finally, the session highlights best practices adopted by other systems to prevent similar incidents and reduce liability risks.

Educational Objectives:

• Discuss the key differences between deliberate indifference and medical negligence, including what must be proven in each case
• Identify the legal risks linked to the human and system failures that contributed to the patient’s death
• Describe how other correctional systems have addressed similar problems and improved their practices

Supported by an independent educational grant from Centurion.