A jury awarded $1.67 million to the sons of a diabetic man who died in a Philly jail

A federal jury in Philadelphia awarded $1.67 million to the sons of a diabetic man who died in a city jail in 2023, finding the death was part of a pattern in which the Philadelphia Department of Prisons failed to provide access to healthcare for its population.

Louis Jung Jr. was found dead on Nov. 6, 2023, in his cell at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. The 50-year-old man died of a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, in which blood becomes acidic due to high sugar levels.

His last known insulin dose was two days prior, according to medical records.

In a four-day trial presided over by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage, attorneys for Jung’s sons argued the death was preventable and the result of jail staff ignoring their father’s medical needs.

“When the government keeps custody, the government has a duty for care,” Nia Holston, an attorney from the Abolitionist Law Center representing Jong’s sons, told the jury.

The jury on Monday found that Lt. Wanda Bloodsaw and the city violated Jung’s constitutional right to medical care during his incarceration. The seven jurors cleared a correctional officer, Gena Frasier.

The jurors further found the failure was part of a pattern under former Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney’s leadership, which lasted from 2016 to 2024.

The city has faced multiple lawsuits over deaths in its prisons, including recent lawsuits concerning drug-related fatalities, but those cases are often settled.

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It is notable that a jury held the “highest echelons” of the city jails accountable, said Bret Grote, the legal director of the Abolitionist Law Center, who also represented Jung’s sons.

“This trial represented justice for the Jung family,” Grote said. “But it’s also a capstone from a very grim era in the Philadelphia Department of Prisons.”

YesCare, the company contracted to provide medical services in the jail, and three of its medical staffers settled for undisclosed amounts before trial. An additional nurse, working for a separate contractor, settled for $200,000.

The jury awarded Jung’s sons $1.5 million in compensatory damages. It also awarded $170,00 in punitive damages against Bloodsaw.

“We are reviewing the verdict and do not have a comment at this time,” Ava Schwemler, a spokesperson for the city’s law department, said in a statement.

Jung was arrested in December 2021 on robbery charges, and his diabetes was poorly managed while incarcerated, the lawsuit says. He was hospitalized for high blood sugar levels four days after he arrived at the correctional facility, and twice more during his first six months there.

In spring 2023, a judge sent him to Norristown State Hospital for psychiatric evaluation of his ability to stand trial.

He returned to Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on Oct. 28. During his intake, Jung’s blood sugar level was over four times higher than the upper limit of the normal range, according to the complaint.

On Nov. 5, Jung asked Frasier to see a nurse. The correctional officer brought a licensed practical nurse to Jung’s cell, where he lay down on the floor at the entrance, according to testimony and video surveillance.

Frasier and the nurse briefly stood over Jung and walked away.

A few minutes later Bloodsaw, who supervised the housing unit that day, stood over Jung as two incarcerated men put him back in his cell. That was the last known interaction between Jung and jail staff until his death roughly 20 hours later.

In that time period, the father of three did not receive “a single drop of lifesaving insulin,” Holston told the jury.

Frasier and Bloodsaw ignored signs of a medical emergency, and failed to follow a jail policy that requires a follow-up with a medical providers after an incarcerated person refuses to take medications, the attorneys said.

An internal investigation found that Bloodsaw did not comply with jail policies, and officials suspended her for 15 days. The suspension has not taken place yet, which attorneys for Jung’s sons said demonstrates a culture that does not emphasize accountability.

The attorneys showed to the jury the results of more than a dozen internal death investigations between 2018 and 2023 that concluded staff did not provide appropriate aid or check their units as required.

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Carney testified that the incidents were not part of a systemic failure. The majority of correctional officers follow their duty with fidelity, the former commissioner said, and should not be painted with a “broad brush” because of the failures of a few.

Attorneys for the city told the jury that jail staff followed the medical assessment of YesCare staff, and that Jung was noncompliant.

“I don’t know why he was refusing his insulin,” city attorney Michael Pestrak said. “But he was.”

The city pointed to a 2023 report commissioned by Carney to review medical care in the jail, including diabetes care, and other policy changes as evidence that city officials were paying attention to medical needs and attempting to improve care.

Jung’s ex-wife, Evelyn Tyson, provided emotional testimony about the impact of his death. He remained her “best friend” after the divorce, she said, and was committed to their three children, including their eldest, who requires full-time care due to cerebral palsy.

“I don’t live anymore,” Tyson said." I’m just existing."