As the bankruptcy of private jail medical provider Armor Correctional Health Services, Inc. wound down on October 23, 2023, the firm sold off its one remaining asset, a contract to provide medical services to prisoners at Texas’ Nueces County Correctional Facility, for a minimum bid of $625,000, which will be used to settle debts with creditors. Armor owes over $150 million for wrongful death and medical malpractice claims, as well as other claims from employees and attorneys. But one of those bills is not for the 2016 death of Milwaukee County Jail detainee Michael Madden, 29. His case presents a primer in how even a carefully pleaded suit over even an egregious jail death can go wrong.

Madden was arrested on September 29, 2016, for possessing heroin and obstructing justice during a traffic stop in Franklin. When booked into the county jail in nearby Milwaukee, he stated that he was an IV drug user, was high on heroin, and would likely kill himself because he “couldn’t go through withdrawals again.” He also reported a congenital heart defect during his health screening intake.

Based on this history, Madden was at high risk for infective endocarditis—bacterial growth on the heart valves that may infect the heart muscle. Generally accepted standards call for immediate evaluation by a doctor and diagnostic testing, but that didn’t happen. Instead, when Madden was seen by an Armor nurse at the jail in early October 2016, he had extremely low blood pressure and was too weak to walk, needing transport by wheelchair. Yet no further action was taken.

On October 14, 2016, Madden was examined at sick call by Nurse Practitioner Mercy Mahaga, who noted that he was obviously ill and had lost seven pounds in less than two weeks. She also detected a heart murmur. Though these symptoms likely indicated infective endocarditis, Mahaga failed to monitor Madden’s condition or refer him for additional care.

On October 25, 2016, Madden submitted a health request reporting what he believed were “bad symptoms” from allergies. Contrary to Armor’s internal policies, Madden was not seen within 24 hours of his request, and no one provided him with medications or additional interventions. Instead, Armor staff apparently ignored Madden to death.

In the early morning hours of October 28, 2016, nurses and guards responded to Madden’s cries for help from his cell and removed him to a common area chair for observation. Madden complained of chest pain and an inability to breathe. A short time later, he began hyperventilating, becoming restless and confused, jerking around and twitching. When nursing staff instructed Madden to slow his breathing and calm down, he attempted to get out of the chair and lie on the concrete floor. But guard Brian Piasecki grabbed Madden by the back of the shirt and threw him back into the chair, ordering the detainee to “sit the fuck up.” Madden slid to the ground on his hands and knees, vomiting a viscous orange discharge.

At this point, Armor employees finally decided to move Madden to the jail’s clinic. When Madden could not walk, Piasecki and another guard dragged him toward the clinic, dropping him on his head. Nurses reported a loud “thud” when Madden’s head struck the floor, calling the impact “very hard.” Madden finally rode to the clinic in a wheelchair but, by that time, he was not breathing. Armor staff unsuccessfully attempted CPR. He was ultimately pronounced dead at 2:23 AM. An autopsy later concluded the cause of death was infective endocarditis with myocarditis.

A Mom’s Lawsuit Falls Short

Madden’s mother, Gail Stockton, retained an attorney and filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin against the jail, Armor and various employees, including Mahaga and Piasecki. Proceeding pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, she alleged that Armor Defendants were deliberately indifferent to Madden’s serious medical needs and that County Defendants intentionally used excessive force against him, in violation of his rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. She also filed a wrongful death claim in state court.

Beyond the appalling facts of this case, the complaint also noted a widespread and well-­documented history of medical neglect at the jail. Just in 2016, three other detainees died obviously preventable deaths, including Terrill Thomas, who was locked in a cell without running water for seven days and died of dehydration while guards and medical staff did nothing; Shade Swayzer, who was pregnant but ignored as she went into labor in her cell, leaving her newborn daughter, Laliah, dead after the ordeal; and Kristina Fiebrink, who died of acute drug withdrawal while screaming for help from her cell as medical staff and guards stood by.

Also in 2016, the jail renewed Armor’s contract, paying $15,764,334 for one year, during which Armor agreed to cover all detainee medical care costs, retaining sole authority to determine what services would be provided. Thus, the complaint pointed out, Armor’s contract financially incentivized it to deny care to prisoners and thereby increase its profits.

But the Court eventually dismissed claims against Armor, finding on December 30, 2021, that negligence shown by Mahaga and other staffers did not create a “sufficiently culpable state of mind,” the standard set by Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 834 (1994). Plaintiff presented expert testimony that Mahaga breached accepted standards, but the Court dismissed that as a disagreement between two professionals. Nurse CarryAnne Adriano left Madden unattended the day he died, but that was a day after the last opportunity to save his life, according to expert testimony. With no employees found culpable, Plaintiff’s supervisory liability claims against Armor failed, too, the Court decided, dismissing the suit. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found error in dismissing Piasecki and reinstated claims against the County on August 9, 2022. See: Stockton v. Milwaukee Cty., 44 F.4th 605 (7th Cir. 2022)

Milwaukee County quickly agreed to settle on November 22, 2022, paying $50,000 for the state court wrongful death action, plus an additional $225,000 to the detainee’s estate, which Stockton represented. The total, ridiculously low for a death, included fees and costs for her attorney, Patrick O. Dunphy of Cannon & Dunphy, S.C., in Brookfield. See: Stockton v. Milwaukee Cty., USDC (E.D. Wis.), No 2:18-­cv-­758; and Stockton v. Milwaukee Cnty., Wis. Cir. (Milwaukee Cnty.), No. 22-­CV-­541.

Citing delays related to the COVID-­19 pandemic, the County took 15 months to respond to PLN’s request for documents. Those noted that Stockton’s claims against Armor in state court were preserved; however, its bankruptcy has likely doomed any further recovery.  

Additional source: Bloomberg Law

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