Family of man who died at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex will receive $1.4 million
Don Behm
Milwaukee County would pay $1.4 million to the family of Brandon T. Johnson to resolve a federal civil rights lawsuit filed after the 25-year-old man's death in 2012 at the county Mental Health Complex, as part of a negotiated settlement.
Johnson died Oct. 6 that year — his third day at the institution — from a blood clot that moved to his lungs, triggered by a broken neck, according to a medical examiner's report.
The patient's roommate told investigators that Johnson repeatedly asked for help the night before he died and complained of being unable to move his legs. Staff didn't believe him and thought he was feigning paralysis, according to testimony during a John Doe investigation in 2013.
Johnson's death at the mental health complex was one of six deaths in the institution that year examined by an independent doctor retained by Disability Rights Wisconsin. The doctor concluded that significant failures in medical care contributed to the deaths of Johnson and three other patients.
The County Board will be asked to approve the settlement at a Feb. 1 meeting. On Thursday, the board's judiciary committee recommended approval of the settlement on a 3-0 vote.
The $1.4 million will be paid out of the county's risk management reserve fund, deputy corporation counsel Colleen Foley said Thursday.
Jonathan Safran, a Milwaukee attorney who represented the Johnson family in the lawsuit and settlement negotiations, confirmed that Brandon's mother, Alicia, and the estate had authorized the settlement with the county.
One of the claims made in the lawsuit was that the Mental Health Complex failed to properly train employees on how to respond when patients experience a medical emergency.
Related:Roommate said patient who died at mental health complex asked for help, detective testifies
Related:Poor care called factor in four deaths at Mental Health Complex
Johnson complained of a fall and some paralysis the first night he was admitted to the complex.
Milwaukee police brought him to the institution after his family and a neighbor alerted authorities that Johnson was behaving oddly, including ringing a neighbor's doorbell early Oct. 3 while wearing only a T-shirt and undershorts.
A prosecutor and a medical examiner testified at the John Doe proceeding that Johnson might have injured his neck by jumping off his bed and landing on the floor at the institution his first day there in an unsuccessful attempt to kick out a window.
William Knoedler, the board-certified psychiatrist retained by Disability Rights Wisconsin, concluded Johnson's treatment at the complex "was seriously and unacceptably deficient, probably contributing to (his) untimely death."
Special Report:Read the Journal Sentinel's investigation of the Mental Health Complex
"Brandon Johnson's death was due to a major failure in our mental health system, and Mr. Johnson and his family paid the ultimate price," Barbara Beckert, Milwaukee office director for Disability Rights Wisconsin, said Thursday.
"This settlement is a reminder that our community must continue to prioritize improving mental health services in our county," Beckert said.
State inspectors determined in 2009 that standards of care at the Mental Health Complex declined after 2003 when the county allowed the institution's accreditation with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care to lapse.
Between 2004 and 2014, federal and state inspectors cited the complex for 182 health and safety violations, according to the Johnson family's federal lawsuit.