Bamberg County sued after mental health patient wastes away in jail, dies

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A lawsuit alleges “grossly negligent” and reckless acts led to the death of a mental health patient who wasted away in Bamberg County jail, where he was kept instead of being sent for psychiatric care that was ordered for him.

The lawsuit alleges Alan R. Thibodeau died because the jail failed to secure the needed medical attention and medications.

Despite being ordered to involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital, he was kept in the jail for about five months. There, he wasted away from 178 pounds to 101 pounds and spent much his time “in an isolated cell where records indicate he spent the bulk of his time naked and covered in excrement,” according to the lawsuit.

He ultimately died after suffering multiple organ failure, dehydration, septic shock and starvation, according to the lawsuit.

The suit was filed Oct. 26 in the Bamberg County Court of Common Pleas by his brother. It names Bamberg County and licensed practical nurse Geri Gillespie as defendants.

The brother also filed a notice to file a malpractice lawsuit against Southern Health Partners. That’s the same medical contractor named as co-defendant with the Aiken County jail in a suit that recently resulted in a nearly $1 judgment for a former inmate who suffered a severe infection.

The plaintiff’s attorneys provided this video of Thibodeau’s decline, compiled from body-cam footage:

WARNING: The contents of the video may be difficult to watch.

Thibodeau was a 51-year-old single father of one adult son and lived with his elderly parents in Virginia, serving as their primary caregivers.

He suffered bipolar schizophrenia and was later diagnosed with diabetes and required insulin and metformin to control his blood sugar.

Thibodeau’s mental health condition rendered him disabled and unable to work outside of the home, though he was able to successfully control his mood and demeanor with medications, according to the lawsuit.

After the death of his father in 2021, Thibodeau began weaning himself off the psychiatric medicines that had successfully managed his mental health condition for many years up to that point, the lawsuit states.

A few days after being reported missing in Virginia, Thibodeau was found on Feb. 14, 2022, sleeping in the spare bedroom of a home in Bamberg.

Law enforcement was summoned, and Thibodeau reported that he had entered the home “to have a place to stay and to keep warm,” the lawsuit states.

During Alan’s bond hearing for a burglary charge, documents show his family was worried about his ability to be safely released on bond due to his mental state.

During the hearing, the family was assured Alan would be “properly fed and taken care of by the nice people at the jail” until a mental evaluation could be conducted.

In April, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health ruled he was unable to stand trial and was deemed to have untreated symptoms of mental illness.

Although he was supposed to be committed to the G. Werber Bryan Psychiatric Hospital, that never happened and he was kept in the Bamberg County jail, according to the lawsuit.

During his time in jail, the lawsuit alleges:

• “Despite multiple Court Orders referencing Mr. Thibodeau’s untreated, severe medical and mental health conditions, Mr. Thibodeau was istered zero mental health medications for his open and obvious mental health condition.”
• “Further, despite Mr. Thibodeau’s diabetes diagnosis and history of having to control his diabetes with both insulin and metformin, Mr. Thibodeau was istered no medications during his time within the Bamberg County Detention Center despite his open and obvious need for such medications.”

Medications he needed included Trazadone, Depakote, Thorazine, Lipitor, Atarax and Humalog, according to the lawsuit.

It also said he was subjected to unreasonable and excessive force with tasers and chemicals, causing his mental health to decline even more.

Between Feb. 14, 2022, and July 10, 2022, Thibodeau’s “physical health deteriorated catastrophically,” the lawsuit states.

Thibodeau died on July 23, 2022, after experiencing active heart failure, circulatory failure, liver failure, kidney failure, and respiratory failure, the lawsuit states.

Thibodeau was further found to be suffering from severe dehydration and septic shock.

He succumbed to his severe physical decompensation and starvation on July 23, 2022, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges:

• He was “subjected to the utilization of force by correctional staff, including the use of a taser,” and the jail staff failed to evaluate him afterward.
• He refused food some of the time, and the lawsuit claims the jail “failed to recognize Thibodeau’s psychiatric decision-making incompetence related to food refusal.”
• The jail failed to exercise reasonable or slight care to stabilize Thibodeau’s acute psychiatric and medical condition and/or transfer him to a facility capable of treating him.
• The jail failed “to exercise reasonable or slight care to timely transfer Mr. Thibodeau to an emergency department or outside medical facility for advanced medical care in light of his obvious and well-known deteriorating physical and mental conditions.”
• The jail “failed to exercise reasonable or slight care to secure treatment for Mr. Thibodeau’s thrombocytopenia, hypothermia, and hypoglycemia.”
• “As a direct and proximate result of the Defendant’s negligent, grossly negligent, and reckless conduct, Mr. Thibodeau was severely injured, suffered needlessly, and subsequently died.”

READ THE LAWSUIT:

Regarding Gillespie’s role, the lawsuit states that she had duties to Thibodeau as a nurse.

During the period in question, Gillespie “was well-aware” that Thibodeau suffered from serious medical conditions and rapidly declining health, requiring close and frequent monitoring and supervision, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleged Gillespie was “deliberately indifferent” to Thibodeau:

• In knowingly, deliberately and consciously failing to secure the necessary treatment or medications for Thibodeau.
• In “consciously failing to use even slight care and caution in safekeeping Mr. Thibodeau” and in failing to monitor him.
• In failing to obtain adequate hydration and nutrition for Thibodeau while he was detained despite knowledge of the severity of his condition.
• In failing to transfer and/or refer Thibodeau for emergency medical assistance at the appropriate time.
• In failing to protect him from harm.

The lawsuit alleges Thibodeau’s son has suffered:

• Loss of contribution of the deceased.
• Extreme mental shock and suffering.
• Extreme wounded feelings.
• Tremendous grief and sorrow.
• Loss of friendship and companionship.
• Loss of a father and relative.

The lawsuit seeks actual and consequential damages from Bamberg County and Gillespie, plus punitive damages from Gillespie.

Thibodeau’s brother, Edwin Thibodeau, is being represented by the legal firm of Evans Moore LLC.

The medical malpractice filing makes many of the same allegations as the civil suit.

READ THE MALPRACTICE FILING:

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