Son of man who died in jail files suit

Mathis Winkler

Friday, Dec. 28, 2001 | 9:38 a.m.

The son of a man who died while in custody at the Henderson jail filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court Thursday.

Adam Tucker, 22, is seeking more than $6 million in punitive damages from the city and the company that provides health care at the prison. His father, Mark, died of a heart attack on Dec. 21, 2000.

Tucker alleges that jail officials failed to provide adequate medical care for his 44-year-old father despite knowing that he had health problems.

Tucker's attorney, Brent Bryson, said his client had been "somewhat ambivalent" about filing the lawsuit and added that Tucker's grief over his father's loss also kept him from acting earlier.

But "he decided to go ahead an make a statement," Bryson said. "They need to take better care of prisoners when they're in custody."

Mark Tucker was jailed on Dec. 13, 2000, after failing an alcohol test he was required to take as a result of an earlier conviction for driving under the influence.

According to the lawsuit, prison officials were informed of Tucker's health problems but did not properly treat symptoms such as chest pain, stomach and digestive problems, vomiting and shortness of breath.

"He had obvious symptoms of a heart attack and (jail officials) gave him antacids," said Adam Tucker. "They came back an hour later and he wasn't breathing. They weren't even a mile away from a hospital. Something could have been done."

While Tucker died of a heart attack, an autopsy later revealed that the Henderson resident also had kidney, liver and lymph node cancer and moderate cirrhosis of the liver.

A nurse who had checked Tucker's blood pressure only about an hour before his death quit a month later. She worked with Emergency Medical Services Associates, the jail's health care provider. The company was bought by Prison Health Services. Both companies are listed as defendants in the lawsuit, as well as yet unnamed health care providers and other jail employees.

Cindy Herman, a spokeswoman for the city of Henderson, said city officials had not received notice about the lawsuit and could not comment on the matter. She also declined to discuss a similar lawsuit filed by Tucker's widow, Kathy, in August, saying that the city was still involved in litigation.

Kathy Tucker, who said she is seeking more than $2.5 million in punitive damages, said Thursday that her husband should never have been jailed in the first place.

"He was sick from the day he went in," she said. "On the last day of his life, he was complaining all day about chest pains and they totally ignored his symptoms and left him there to die."

Officials for Prison Health Services could not be reached for comment Thursday.

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