On March 27th, a jury in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, found that private jail medical contractor PrimeCare Medical Inc. was negligent, but ultimately not responsible for the death of 27-year-old inmate Travis Magditch.
The Magditch family sued PrimeCare and Lehigh County in 2012 after Travis was arrested for allegedly possessing drug paraphernalia and died of an asthma attack at the jail one day later.
The family’s attorney, David Inscho, told jurors this was Travis’ first time behind bars. He stated that he had “called his parents when he got there, begging to be bailed out.”
The local police offered to release Travis into his father’s custody, but having seen his son struggle with heroin addiction for two years, he decided against it. Mr. Magditch believed this decision would force Travis to “get help for his drug addiction” and enter rehabilitation.