FAMILY SUES STATE OVER INMATE'S DEATH

The family of a Brandon man who died in a jail more than a year and a
half ago is suing the state, claiming that while he was suffering
from severe heroin withdrawal, he failed to get necessary medical
care while behind bars.

The lawsuit was filed last week in Rutland Superior Court on behalf
of the late Robert Nichols' estate, which is administered by his
wife, Eva Nichols. Robert Nichols died Feb. 5, 2005, while in the
Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington.

The lawsuit names as defendants not only the state of Vermont, but
Prison Health Services, a company that had been contracted to provide
medical services in the Vermont's prisons shortly before Nichols' death.

The lawsuit alleges proper procedures were not followed for Nichols,
an inmate experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the use of heroin at
the time of his incarceration.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Vermont Department of Corrections officials referred questions on the
lawsuit to Assistant State Attorney General David Groff, who is
representing the state in the case.

"We don't have any comment at this time. The lawsuit was just served
recently and we're preparing our answer at this time," Groff said an
interview last week.

Eva Nichols is represented by attorneys Peter Langrock and Devin
McLaughlin of the firm Langrock, Sperry & Wool in Middlebury.

McLaughlin last week declined to reveal a specific dollar amount for
damages the lawsuit is seeking. "It will ultimately be up to a jury
to decide," the attorney said.

Officials with Prison Health Services, based in Tennessee, could not
be reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Nichols was arrested on Feb. 3, 2005, on
federal firearms charges, and on Feb. 4 at about 3:30 a.m., agents
from the federal Department of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms brought
Nichols to the South Burlington jail, where he was lodged as a
federal detainee.

"Mr. Nichols reported that he was suffering from heroin withdrawal,
and that he had ingested eighty (80) bags of heroin within three days
of being incarcerated," the lawsuit stated. "He was not given
immediate medical attention."

At about 9 a.m. on Feb. 4, Nichols was transported to federal court
in Burlington, but because of the severity of his withdrawal
symptoms, he could not appear before the judge and was taken back to
the South Burlington jail around 1:30 p.m., according to the lawsuit.

"Again, Mr. Nichols received no immediate medical treatment," the
lawsuit stated. "The U.S. Marshals reported the severity of Mr.
Nichols' symptoms to (the South Burlington jail)."

The first medical treatment Nichols received at the jail was more
than five hours later, at about 7:15 p.m. of Feb. 4, when he was seen
by a nurse from Prison Health Services, the lawsuit stated.

"This was approximately 16 hours after first arriving at the facility
with obvious withdrawal symptoms. Mr. Nichols was not seen by a
doctor or referred to an outside facility," according to the lawsuit.
"Rather, he was returned to his cell after apparent administration of
some medication. He was not sent to a medical bed or facility."

Nichols had reported to the nurse that he had vomited three times
that evening and had a fever and tremors, the lawsuit stated.
Fifteen-minute checks were ordered on Nichols, who had been returned to a cell.

"However, these checks were either not conducted in whole or in part
or were so cursory a fashion as to not constitute meaningful
observation," and Nichols continued to vomit in his cell, the lawsuit stated.

The next morning, at 5:54 a.m., when a correctional officer opened
the cell door to bring in breakfast, Nichols was found dead, and he
appeared to have been deceased for about an hour.

The lawsuit stated that state Department of Corrections employees, as
well as employees of Prison Health Services, violated Nichols' rights
"by their deliberate indifference to Mr. Nichols' serious medical
needs, as they knew of and disregarded excessive risk to Mr. Nichols
though gross incompetence and grossly inadequate treatment and supervision."

In June 2005, a statewide advocacy group issued a report looking into
Nichols' death. The report stated that Nichols' death could have been
avoided if he had received better medical care.

Vermont Protection & Advocacy reported that the state Department of
Corrections knew Nichols had been sick when he came into the jail,
but did not properly monitor him.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in
Burlington at the time his arrest in February 2005, Nichols was taken
into custody at his home in Brandon after a raid by the state's
Heroin Enforcement Action Team.

During the search, police found abut 9.2 grams of cocaine and three
firearms that had been reported stolen from three private residences
in Danby in 2004, according to an affidavit filed by a special agent
with the federal ATF. Nichols told authorities he had purchased the
three firearms from two people.

"Nichols also admitted to being a regular user of heroin. He stated
he has used heroin for about 1-1/2 years, with a habit reaching as
high as 100 bags a day," the affidavit stated. "He stated he uses
about 20 bags of heroin a day, and used as recently as a few hours
before he was arrested."

Nichols, also known by the nickname, "Bones," was a meat cutter, and
worked in the family business, Nichols Slaughter House.