COUDERSPORT — Five civil counts were filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court against Potter County, Potter County Jail employees and UPMC Cole by the family of man who hung himself in the jail two years ago.
The filings in the court’s Middle District of Pennsylvania allege that Paul E. Sparkman Jr. committed suicide by hanging in the jail on Aug. 11, 2022 after his pleas for medication and intervention by a mental health professional were not met.
The law firm of Eisenberg Rottweiler of Philadelphia is representing Paul Sparkman Sr. and family, with attorneys demanding a jury trial and is seeking $150,000 for each count totaling $750,000, plus interest, court costs and other fees.
Potter County Jail corrections officers Richard Zurawa, Joshua Rosenwie and Adam Rinehart; UPMC Cole, UPMC’s Dr. Aaron Hill, UPMC registered nurse Valerie Tinder and social worker Dawn Dovensky are named in the complaints.
The claim states that additional Potter County corrections officers and supervisors employed by the jail are expected to be named and that UPMC Cole doctors, nurses or other medical providers are expected to be named as well.
The civil complaints allege that Sparkman’s civil rights were violated and that he was the victim of medical negligence in a wrongful death.
The court filing alleges that Sparkman completed several intake forms on Aug. 7, 2022, and that he disclosed that he suffered from several mental health problems, that he was under the care of doctor and that he took multiple medications to manage his mental health. Sparkman also indicated that he did not have medication on him and that he “wished to meet with the counselor soon.”
“Counselor Dovensky never met with Sparkman,” the claim states, while alleging that Tinder met with Sparkman the day before his death.
The filing alleges that Sparkman revealed that he was undergoing mental health treatment and he provided a contact number for his provider; however, the provider was not contacted.
The Sparkmans’ attorneys provided copies of jail health forms showing that Tinder checked “no” when asked if Sparkman had psychiatric problems, hospitalizations, a psychiatrist or counselor or suicidal ideation at the moment or in the past.
Sparkman was said by a neighboring prisoner to be distraught on Aug. 11, 2022, begging for his medications and for contact with his family. He was found hanging from his bunk ladder that evening, wearing his jumpsuit, by a second jumpsuit around his neck.
The spare jumpsuit was placed in Sparkman’s cell and was available to him, the filing alleges.
Suicides at the Potter County Jail have been an ongoing issue in recent years, lawyers for the plaintiffs allege, citing reporting by PennLive and the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, given the jail’s “low” inmate population of “about 33 people per day” yet the facility had “the highest death rate” of all county jails in 2022. The plaintiffs allege Sparkman’s death was at least the fourth inmate death by suicide at the jail since 2006.
The claims also cite what were termed years-long delays in obtaining telehealth services for the jail, which were finally put in place on September 2022.
The filing also notes that Potter County was one of the last Pennsylvania counties to create a jail oversight board, in 2021.
The Potter County commissioners and UPMC Cole did not respond to a request for comment on the civil filing.
