Left: William Zinselmeier and his family (Pedroli Law LLC). Right: The Jefferson County Jail in Missouri (Google Maps).
The family of an inmate who died at a Missouri jail is suing the agency, claiming in a lawsuit that corrections officers and doctors ignored his deteriorating health in the days and hours leading up to his death.
William Zinselmeier died on Jan. 7, 2023, in the Jefferson County Jail at the age of 58. Now his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the jail, sheriff's office and company that provides healthcare to inmates.
Zinselmeier was detained in the jail on March 18, 2022, per the lawsuit. Upon entry, he told jail staff that he suffered from diabetes and hypertension and required medication. By Jan. 1, 2023, Zinselmeier became "too sick" to get out of bed or eat.
From the lawsuit:
As the days passed, Mr. Zinselmeier's condition worsened and fellow detainees became increasingly concerned about Zinselmeier, as he was unable to drink water or eat food without immediately vomiting. Both Mr. Zinselmeier and other inmates requested medical help, medication, and voiced their concerns for Mr. Zinselmeier's serious medical needs, including warning guards and nurses, and repeatedly pressing the emergency call button. Zinselmeier said several times "I feel like I'm gonna die." His roommate told guards he was "dying." Despite these serious complaints, and requests for his prescription medication and treatment, Jefferson County Jail correctional officers and VitalCore medical staff ignored the pleas.
A fellow inmate requested the guards bring Zinselmeier his medicine and a guard allegedly responded that "if he wants his medicine he can get up and come get his medicine."
Roughly 10 hours before his death, Zinselmeier fell out of his bed and became unresponsive, the family's lawyers write. He lay on the floor as guards allegedly "milled in and out" and did nothing to help him either by giving him medical aid or calling 911.
Zinselmeier's cellmate found him not breathing around 3:40 a.m. Jan. 7, 2023, and hit an emergency call button. Medical staff responded a few minutes later and pronounced him dead shortly after 4 a.m. An autopsy determined he died of "hypertensive cardiovascular disease" with diabetes as a significant contributing factor. His death was "foreseeable and preventable," his lawyer Marj J. Pedroli of Pedroli Law LLC claims.
The family is suing for wrongful death as well as violations to his Eighth and 14th Amendment rights. His daughter, Kristen Zinselmeier, told local Fox affiliate KTVI that she is advocating for her father.
"My dad told me, 'If I pass away in here, just make sure that it doesn't happen to nobody else,'" she said. "That's what I'm doing."
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office could not immediately be reached for comment. VitalCore, the medical agency in charge of inmate healthcare at the jail, declined comment to KTVI.
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