FENTRESS COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — A $20 million lawsuit was filed against a Middle Tennessee jail, making accusations of reckless conduct that resulted in a brain injury of an inmate.
"I cry a lot. I pray a lot. I get angry a lot," said Patricia Clark, who is heartbroken over what happened to her son Jason in the Fentress County jail.
He was arrested this past April on misdemeanor possession charges, and it was not his first time at the facility. But this time he ended up in intensive care.
"This was totally preventable — that's the key point,"
All that had to be done is respect the known risk that existed for this inmate.
Wesley Clark and Paul Randolph with Brazil Clark, PLLC represent the family in a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
In the security video from the jail, viewers can see the moment Jason had a seizure and fell from an upper bunk, something his mother says never should have happened.
"Just total disregard for their own notes that they had. I don't think they cared," Clark said.
The suit claims Jason has a history of seizures that was known to the jail staff. And that there is even a doctor's note in his file specifying he should be on a lower bunk to avoid falls.
"He was never given seizure medication, and they placed him on an elevated bunk that resulted in him suffering a traumatic brain injury," said Randolph, who is representing the family.
Additional video shows the staff did remove Jason from the jail pod after the fall as he was disoriented and in pain.
He suffered a fractured skull, and doctors at the hospital found internal bleeding that left him brain damaged — something his mother says was completely preventable had her son only been properly placed in the lower bunk.
"It should not have happened to him or anyone else."
Jason Clark currently remains in intensive care on a respirator and is immobile.
We reached out to the Fentress County sheriff but were told they do not comment about the case.
