Family of man who died in Olmsted County jail files suit in federal court over his death

ROCHESTER - The family of a man who died in 2023 in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center is suing the county and the medical services company that staffs the jail, arguing his death was preventable.

Melvin Bush, 59, died from a perforated intestine the afternoon of March 5, 2023. At the time, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office said deputies discovered him not breathing around 4:30 p.m. and tried to resuscitate him before medical help could arrive.

Bush’s family and their attorney Jeff Storms claim in their wrongful-death lawsuit filed Monday in federal court that deputies and a nurse employed by Advanced Correctional Healthcare (ACH) dismissed his stomach issues as signs of drug withdrawal.

According to the suit, the nurse and deputies checked on Bush multiple times throughout the day but never properly assessed him or sought more medical attention for Bush’s increasing decline in health.

In a statement, Storms said the lawsuit is part of a pattern of medical malpractice by ACH brought forth by lawsuits across the United States.

“Once again, we have an inmate staring death in the face and pleading for their lives,” Storms said. “There appears to be a pattern in correctional health care nationwide of brushing aside serious and deadly conditions as simply withdrawal, which can in and of itself be deadly. Jail should be a first step towards recovery for someone suffering from addiction, not a death sentence.”

Storms alluded to similar circumstances at Hennepin County’s jail, where Lucas Bellamy, 41, died in 2022. Hennepin County in November settled with Bellamy’s family for $3.4 million. Storms represented the Bellamy family in that case.

The Olmsted County Attorney’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit.

According to court records, Bush was arrested March 1 for allegedly violating a no-contact order. At the time, Bush told authorities he had high blood pressure and was taking medication to wean himself off opioids.

The lawsuit states Bush was found to have several substances in his system and was prescribed medication different from the one he was taking.

No one gave Bush a medical check until the morning of March 5, when he refused medication and later told deputies he “needed to see a doctor ASAP,” according to court files. The nurse on duty checked his temperature and blood pressure, finding them both to be lower than average.

The nurse later reported to deputies Bush was suffering from withdrawal, according to court documents, and made the same diagnosis despite checks throughout the afternoon at Bush’s request. Bush was found not breathing around 4:15 p.m. and later transported to St. Mary’s hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 5:30 p.m.

The lawsuit argues medical staff at the jail missed numerous opportunities to help Bush, from not giving him a complete examination when he was first processed per jail policy to not completely assessing his condition, including an abdomen check, when he complained of serious stomach pains.

The family’s attorney further argues jail and deputy staff should have known something was seriously wrong after Bush’s temperature read 96 degrees and his blood pressure was lower than normal. Bush had refused to eat that day, didn’t want to get out of bed, and couldn’t walk on his own in the common area that afternoon, among other medical signs.

Bush was the second man to die in Olmsted County’s jail in 2023. Russell Simon Jr., 59, was found not breathing in his cell the morning of Jan. 16 and died despite efforts to resuscitate him.