Family of Ohio man who died in prison files federal wrongful death suit
The family of a 20-year-old man who died while imprisoned in 2022 has sued Ohio's prison system for wrongful death, saying the nurses and medical staff failed to help the man when he was sick.
Darez Duff died on April 3, 2022, at Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, according to a lawsuit filed by his estate Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Columbus.
Duff was serving a prison sentence of 11 to 16.5 years after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He admitted to the June 29, 2019, fatal shooting of 29-year-old John Habern III, a father of four who was also Duff's cousin.
Duff was housed at the Pickaway Correctional Institution in Orient in January 2022 when he complained of feeling ill, the suit says.
He told prison staff that he had COVID and was unable to sleep because of the pain he was experiencing, according to the suit. A prison employee determined Duff had dilated pupils and "jaundice-like red eyes" and had Duff moved to a restrictive housing section of the prison.
In early February 2022, Duff again told medical staff he was feeling ill, with symptoms of a bad cold, sore throat and severe headaches. A nurse told Duff at that time to increase his fluid intake and gave him instructions on using an inhaler.
Three days later, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections moved Duff to the Lebanon Correctional Institution in Warren County. The lawsuit said it remains unclear whether Duff's medical records were transferred with him to the new prison facility. At the time he transferred facilities, Duff was tested for COVID and SARS, according to the lawsuit. Those test results are not included in the records cited in the filing.
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On March 3, 2022, Duff told a nurse that he had what might be a bug bite that was growing larger, the lawsuit said, resulting in a nurse telling him to apply a hot compress. Eight days later, a different nurse saw Duff after he reported developing another boil that was painful and draining fluid.
A prison doctor prescribed an antibiotic at that time, according to the lawsuit.
On March 15, 2022, Duff spoke to the prison's medical staff again, this time noting that the boil had popped and had concerns about an abscess developing. A nurse practitioner told Duff to continue taking the antibiotic and to keep the area as clean as possible.
The lawsuit said the prison medical staff suspected Duff had hepatitis.
Four days later, on March 19, 2022, a nurse checked on Duff, the lawsuit said, and noted the wound was healing, but there was a history of a staph infection.
Corrections staff found Duff severely ill in his cell at the Lebanon prison on the morning of April 2, 2022. Duff had diarrhea and vomited after being taken to the prison's infirmary. He also had shallow breathing and what appeared to be "decreased cognitive abilities."
A prison doctor made the decision, along with a nurse, to have Duff taken to an area hospital for treatment based on his symptoms, according to the lawsuit.
When Duff was taken to Atrium Medical Center, the lawsuit said the hospital's staff wanted to contact Duff's family about his condition but the guards with Duff told the staff not to contact the family. Duff died less than 24 hours later.
The lawsuit said Duff died from pneumonia, SARS, COVID, MRSA and a severe kidney injury.
Duff's family said in the lawsuit that the state, ODRC, the two prisons where Duff specifically was housed while he was ill, as well as more than a dozen prison staff (all named in the lawsuit) showed deliberate indifference to Duff's health and well-being, which contributed to his death.
"The acts of the defendants were outrageous and intolerable in a civilized society and exceeded the bounds of decency," the lawsuit said. "The actions of all the defendants … amounted to cruel and unusual punishment."
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections told The Dispatch that it had no comment.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Family sues Ohio, state prison system over man's death in custody
