Man Suffers Fatal Injury While in Custody

There are multiple types of personal injury cases occurring in Baltimore at any given time, and they can vary greatly. Consider one story that has been making the news lately. A man who was in custody and under arrest suffered from a fatal spine injury. As a result, a massive investigation is ensuing.

The Back Story

According to resources, Freddie Gray was arrested by individuals in a police van. There are no recordings, as there were no cameras on the van. However, Gray suffered some type of injury during the arrest. According to police reports, the subject was placed in leg irons because he was acting irate and difficult to handle. The police stopped to pick up another individual, and at that time, Gray asked for medical attention.

According to police, he first asked for his inhaler. However, this is the only request he made according to documentation.

The Witnesses

A bystander did record Gray being manually dragged into the police van. However, there were no other witnesses after that moment. When the victim was taken out of the van, however, he could not breathe or talk. This is when the serious injury was noted. There is no explanation of how the injury occurred and when.

The Results

The spine injury was fatal, and according to autopsy results, close to 80% of his neck was severed. Six police officers have been suspended during the investigation of his injury. At this time, investigators are completely unsure of what happened or why Gray was arrested in the first place. The only information on the arrest is that he made eye contact with an officer and then ran. Other than that, there is no information provided.

The officials of Baltimore have ordered a rewrite of police policies to ensure that anyone who asks for, or needs, medical attention is given that as soon as possible. Since Gray did repeatedly ask for medical attention, which he was not given, he did not get the help that could possibly have saved his life.

Because this is such an unclear case, it would be very hard to determine at this time whether Gray’s family has a personal injury/wrongful death claim against the city of Baltimore. However, it is likely that there will be some type of compensation involved if investigators prove that the police acted inappropriately in the situation.

Personal injury law doesn’t just cover people who have been injured or killed by other individuals. It can also cover situations of this type. Anytime someone is negligent and this results in injury, then a case can be made. In the situation above, it would seem that the police were negligent in providing medical care for the individual.

If you have been injured and you feel that someone else’s negligence was responsible, then it is important that you seek the advice of a personal injury attorney as soon as possible, after you have sought medical care of course. Make sure you choose a lawyer with experience in these cases specifically for the best results.