MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Storms Dworak LLC filed a federal lawsuit today in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota against Dakota County, its jailers and its for-profit medical provider for the horrific neglect and deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of a severely mentally ill and diabetic detainee, Caleb Duffy.
The lawsuit was filed on Caleb’s behalf by his father and legal guardian, Brian Duffy.
The Complaint alleges that Dakota County Correctional Officers and Nurses with Advanced Correctional Healthcare, the company that provides medical services to the Dakota County jail, ignored Caleb’s pleas for help.
Caleb Duffy was detained at the jail on July 4, 2022. After being denied his medications, he was locked into a padded cell, where he languished naked in a psychotic state, rolling in his own feces, blood, urine, and vomit. Caleb injured himself severely by repeatedly hitting his head against an unpadded area of the cell.
Less than 48 hours after arriving at the jail, a glucose meter also could not measure his blood sugar because it was so high. Caleb was finally taken to an emergency room and placed in critical condition on arrival. He needed to be intubated and was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis with coma. He spent nearly two weeks in intensive care.
“This case involves a shocking lack of care by the defendant corrections and jail medical staff. No person should be subjected to such willful indifference. Mr. Duffy’s plight was so severe that it is extremely difficult to watch any of it on video, but the video goes on for hours on end—and the individuals present at the time did nothing,” said Storms Dworak Partner Ryan Vettleson.
About Storms Dworak LLC
Storms Dworak handles many of Minnesota’s highest-profile civil rights and wrongful death cases, including actions involving the deaths of George Floyd, Daunte Wright, and Amir Locke. The firm has also recently filed federal civil rights suits for the jail deaths of Lucas Bellamy and Nickolas Norberg. In addition to civil rights cases, the Minneapolis firm represents clients in high-stakes personal injury, medical malpractice, sexual abuse, and employment claims.