MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit-area county and a health care provider have agreed to a $2.45 million settlement with the family of a man who died while in jail for a minor driving offense.
David Stojcevski, 32, suffered serious withdrawals from drug use while serving a 30-day sentence for careless driving at the Macomb County jail in 2014.
Stojcevski failed to get proper care, despite evidence that he was hallucinating in his cell and shaking with seizures, his lawyer said.
The county agreed to pay $1.15 million, with some covered by insurance, and Correct Care Solutions, now known as Wellpath, paid $1.3 million, the Macomb Daily reported Tuesday.
County attorney John Schapka said an insurance company took over defense of the lawsuit in 2018. He said a 2021 court ruling involving a Tennessee jail set a precedent in Michigan's federal courts.
It “made it far more difficult to defend these types of cases,” Schapka said.
He said jails can be held liable “if they should have known” that someone was showing objective signs of medical distress.
The FBI investigated Stojcevski's death but no charges were filed.
“The video made it clear as day that people were not paying attention to his care,” said Harold Perakis, a lawyer for the family.
