Family of woman who died of overdose sues Mercy Health, Lorain County Sheriff's Office

The family of an Elyria woman who died after being taken from Mercy Health Hospital in Lorain to the Lorain County Jail in Elyria while suffering from a drug overdose in May 2023 has sued the Lorain County Sheriff's Office, the hospital system and employees of both in federal court. The family of Joan Ayala Diaz claimed in its lawsuit that her rights were violated, that Sheriff Phil Stammitti failed to properly train or supervise corrections officers, that corrections officers committed reckless and wanton misconduct, and that the hospital and one of its doctors were negligent in treating Diaz. The lawsuit also alleges wrongful death against all the defendants except Stammitti. It was filed May 17 in U.S. District Court in Cleveland by attorneys Jeremy Tor and Matthew Besser, who are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, compensation for Diaz's medical care and costs, attorney fees and other damages on behalf of her family. The lawsuit does not state a dollar amount being sought in damages. The case is assigned to Judge Charles Esque Fleming. Along with Stammitti and the hospital, the Diaz family also sued the hospital's corporate parent company Bon Secours Mercy Health and its foundation, Mercy Health's Dr. John Doan, who was on duty in the ER that night, Sheriff's Deputy Robert Moderwell, corrections officers Yvette Beckwith, Ryan Frizell, Eric Hollis, Jason Jancsura, corrections Sgt. Cenu Glover, and corrections nurses John Allen and Angela Brooks. Lorain County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Dan Petticord said the lawsuit was being handled by attorneys with the County Risk Sharing Authority, or CORSA, Lorain County's insurance provider. Both Petticord and Stammitti said Friday they couldn't comment on pending litigation. Messages seeking comment on the lawsuit were left for a Mercy Health spokeswoman. Diaz, a 28-year-old mother of four, overdosed on a Percocet pill that was laced with fentanyl outside a Family Dollar store in Lorain the evening of May 17, 2023, according to the lawsuit. She was given naloxone while en route to Mercy Health Hospital in an ambulance. Diaz vomited multiple times at the hospital, was treated with fluids and medication, but continued to vomit and be lightheaded, the lawsuit states. Moderwell, who was at the hospital ER, told hospital employees Diaz would be taken to the jail on a warrant for failing to show up in court on traffic charges. Doan allegedly discharged Diaz "prematurely" from the ER, "putting Joan at risk of decompensation and death" as the naloxone began to wear off. The "standard of care" required Diaz to remain hospitalized there until after the fentanyl wore off, according to the lawsuit. Moderwell took Diaz to the Lorain County Jail in Elyria, where she continued to be sick and show signs of an overdose. She had trouble getting out of his cruiser, vomited multiple times, and had trouble walking, the lawsuit states. Nurse Allen was told Diaz was overdosing, but he, Beckwith and Moderwell allegedly did nothing for several minutes. Jail employees allegedly "chose not to provide or procure any medical treatment" despite having naloxone on hand to stop Diaz's overdose, according to the lawsuit. The jail "has an ample, readily accessible supply of (naloxone) for exactly this type of situation — yet no one at the jail bothered taking the simple step of administering this life-saving medication to Joan when she was obviously in the throes of an opiate overdose," her family's attorneys wrote. Diaz then lay down on a bench for several hours and began having trouble breathing around 1:45 a.m. the following morning. No corrections officers got her medical attention during that time, according to the lawsuit. It wasn't until six minutes after another jail inmate alerted corrections officers that Diaz wasn't breathing that corrections officers started CPR. Diaz never regained consciousness and died at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center on May 19, 2023, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit states that an autopsy by the Lorain County Coroner's Office showed Diaz died as a result of acute fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.