Mother awarded $2M in Utah medical malpractice lawsuit a decade after son’s death

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — More than 10 years after a man died in the Salt Lake County Jail, a jury awarded his mother $2 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit Tuesday.

According to a Spence Law Firm news release and court documents, Jeremy Aus died in the Salt Lake County Jail on Nov. 16, 2013, while awaiting trial for misdemeanor charges. The lawsuit claimed he died after a contracted nurse refused to give him his prescribed medication.

The nurse was working for Wellcon, Inc., which was contracted by the jail to provide medical services to inmates. In 2021, Jeremy Aus’ mother, Janis Aus, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Wellcon, Inc.

On Tuesday, July 2, the jury awarded Janis Aus $2 million for the pain and suffering her son felt before his death, however, they did not feel that there was enough evidence to prove his death was caused by a breach of standards.

Jeremy Aus’ death

According to the lawsuit, Jeremy Aus had been taking Clonazepam, a benzodiazepine, for more than 10 years for anxiety. The jail’s medical professionals were aware of his prescription, but they reportedly refused to give him the drug as Wellcon had a policy against dispensing benzodiazepines.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), recommends tapering inmates off the medication rather than withholding it entirely to prevent dangerous withdrawal symptoms. The lawsuit claimed it was not unusual for the nurse, and Wellcon in general, to refuse inmates benzodiazepines without tapering them off the medication despite BOP guidelines.

Prosecutors claimed Jeremy Aus asked several times for his medication but the nurse refused. More than a week after he was booked in jail, nurses were called to Jeremy Aus’ cell around 8 p.m. on reports of a possible seizure.

The nurses allegedly found Jeremy Aus lying on his back and used ammonia to wake him, but prosecutors claim they did nothing else to assist him. His cellmate claims Jeremy Aus had between four and six seizures that night.

At around 10 p.m., the cellmate alerted staff that he was non-responsive and was not breathing. Jeremy Aus was declared dead that night, with a time of death of 10:05 p.m.

“By abruptly discontinuing Jeremy’s Clonazepam prescription, Wellcon caused Jeremy’s death from benzodiazepine withdrawal,” the lawsuit claimed.

Jury’s verdict

The jury concluded that the nurse breached the standard of care by not monitoring Jeremy Aus for signs of withdrawal which led to injury, pain, and/or suffering. However, they did not conclude that the nurse’s breach caused his death.

The lawsuit claimed he died due to the nurse’s decision to abruptly discontinue his medication, however, the jury ultimately decided there was not enough evidence to prove that the nurse “breached the standard of care” by not easing him of the benzodiazepine.

After finding the defendant responsible for not properly monitoring Jeremy Aus, the jury awarded Janis Aus $2 million.

“Jeremy needlessly suffered from benzodiazepine withdrawal,” Co-lead Counsel Emily S. Madden said. “The prescription wasn’t given simply because [he] was accused of a crime. We hope this verdict reminds correctional care providers of their obligations to provide appropriate care, even for the incarcerated.”

In addition to this recent lawsuit, Janis Aus has also settled federal claims against the Salt Lake County Jail, according to the news release.

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