The estate of a man who died in Porter County Jail over the July Fourth weekend has filed a federal lawsuit against the Porter County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Jeffery Balon, alleging Gene Rush died because he did not receive the proper medical care he required for a tracheostomy and related medical concerns.
Rush, 70, of Valparaiso, was booked into the jail on July 2 on a misdemeanor charge of driving while suspended and for a probation hold in an unrelated, nonviolent matter, according to the lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Hammond.
He was found unresponsive in his cell around 7:30 a.m. July 5 and was pronounced dead 11 minutes later, according to the lawsuit.
“Gene died after his airway became blocked by excessive mucus and tissue growth around his tracheostomy — a foreseeable and preventable medical emergency of which Defendants were aware based on Gene’s condition at booking, his known medical history, his worsening respiratory condition through his detention, his requests for assistance, and the warnings communicated by his wife to PCJ staff throughout his detention,” the lawsuit states.
A sheriff’s department official and Balon both declined to comment.
“Holiday weekends in jail can be tough, unfortunately,” as there can be concerns about staffing and access to care, Chester Cameron, a Chicago attorney with Midwest Injury Lawyers, LLC, who is representing Rush’s estate, said during a phone interview.
“We don’t know the answers to that yet,” Cameron said. “We do know he’s in a cell dying. He isn’t a hardened, violent criminal.”
Rush, Cameron said, had two prior nonviolent offenses for driving under the influence, and driving on a suspended license prompted his probation to be revoked.
“His family wants answers, accountability and most of all, transparency,” Cameron said, adding they want to know what happened to Rush and the only way to get those answers is through a federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed by Rush’s daughter, Kelly Hook, on behalf of his estate, also alleges a “widespread practice” by the jail of failing to have detainees examined by a doctor at intake or while in the jail.
Around 1:37 p.m. July 2, according to the lawsuit, a Valparaiso police officer stopped Rush near the intersection of Wood Street and Roosevelt Road after police identified the owner of the vehicle as having a suspended driver’s license.
Rush was arrested on a charge of driving while suspended and transported to the county jail, the lawsuit states.
“Driving While Suspended is a Class A misdemeanor in Indiana that ordinarily results in release on bond the same day. However, because Gene was on probation for a prior Operating While Intoxicated conviction, he remained in custody pursuant to a statutory probation hold,” the lawsuit notes.
Because of Rush’s tracheostomy, vocal prosthesis and ongoing airway complications, according to the suit, Rush had difficulty speaking and communicating while at the jail.
“Despite his impaired ability to speak, Gene attempted to communicate to Defendants that he was experiencing serious, ongoing complications related to his tracheostomy, was at risk for airway obstruction, and had a scheduled medical procedure to address those life-threatening complications,” the lawsuit states.
“Additionally, and based on his underlying condition, it would have been obvious to Defendants that Gene was having a difficult time breathing at the time of his intake.”
While Rush was being booked into the jail, according to the lawsuit, his wife of 51 years, Kimberly, a retired 30-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, called the jail to inform officers that her husband had “a serious and potentially life-threatening medical condition involving his throat and required close medical observation and monitoring.”
Rush was subsequently assigned to an isolated medical cell with video surveillance, the lawsuit states.
Rush, the lawsuit states, did not receive the proper medical evaluation or care he required while he was at the jail and, on July 3 and 4, his condition continued to deteriorate as he experienced “serious respiratory distress.”
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges, Kimberly Rush tried twice to reach her husband while he was in jail without success and the second time, on July 4, a correctional officer told her Rush was likely not calling back because of “ongoing issues speaking and breathing due to his stoma,” and she was told “that ‘medical staff’ was assisting Gene.”
Though Rush’s condition continued to deteriorate and was life-threatening, per the lawsuit, he was never transferred to an outside facility for evaluation and treatment.
A little more than three hours before Rush died, around 4:20 a.m. July 5, Rush asked for help clearing his tracheostomy, according to the lawsuit.
“Gene ordinarily relied upon specialized equipment and supplies to safely manage his tracheostomy and airway, which were unavailable to him at the PCJ,” the lawsuit states, adding that the defendants responded to his request for assistance, though they lacked the equipment or training to do so.
“This was yet another missed opportunity for the Defendants to transfer Gene to an outside facility for emergent care that likely would have saved his life,” the lawsuit notes.
Rush, according to the lawsuit, was not monitored after he requested assistance and he was not observed again until around 7:30 a.m., when a correctional officer conducting routine rounds found Rush unresponsive in his cell.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ objectively unreasonable and unconstitutional conduct, Gene suffered preventable asphyxiation, cardiac arrhythmia, and ultimately death,” the lawsuit states.
Rush’s estate is asking for a jury trial and financial relief.