The state has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed in the death of a prisoner who died of a heart attack after he was placed on suicide watch at Hālawa Correctional Facility while he was withdrawing from a prescribed drug used to treat opioid addiction.
The lawsuit over the death of Brian Kimo O’Gorman, 43, alleges the medical staff at Hālawa Correctional Facility failed to provide appropriate treatment for O’Gorman as he suffered hallucinations and other severe withdrawal symptoms for nearly two weeks after he was sent to Hālawa in early 2022.
Richard Turbin, one of the lawyers for O’Gorman’s estate, said O’Gorman died of dehydration that caused heart failure as he was withdrawing from methadone.
“Nobody deserved what happened to him,” Turbin said. “This never should have happened.”
Brian O’Gorman (Facebook photo 2020)
Prison policies require that inmates be hospitalized when they are suffering from life-threatening withdrawal symptoms, according to the lawsuit, and Turbin described O’Gorman’s case as “horrendous.”
“The citizens of Hawaiʻi should know just the lack of due care at the prison,” Turbin said. “Just the lack of care and the lack of attention and not following their own standards and their rules about how they should handle a prisoner who’s coming in and is potentially going to have withdrawal symptoms.”
Lawyers for the state have agreed to pay $600,000 to resolve the case, and the proposed settlement is now pending approval by state lawmakers. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of O’Gorman’s mother Susan, who is the administrator of his estate.
The lawsuit and the autopsy report on O’Gorman’s death describe a harrowing series of events after O’Gorman was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on Feb. 16, 2022 on charges that included identity theft, attempted theft and promotion of a dangerous drug.
O’Gorman had been in a methadone program to manage his drug addiction, and received his last dose of the drug the day he was sentenced. On Feb. 25 he presented to “sick call” at the prison, complaining of hallucinations, shaking and sweating.
A prison doctor ordered treatment for drug withdrawal, but his symptoms worsened in the following days. Staff reported he was exhibiting signs of paranoia, according to the lawsuit, and placed him on suicide watch on Feb. 27.
“They should have continued him on methadone treatment and not just let him go cold turkey,” Turbin said.
Placing him on suicide watch made things worse, Turbin said, and put him in “almost a torturous situation.” After enduring withdrawal symptoms for about five days, prison staff found O’Gorman unresponsive and not breathing in his cell on the evening of March 2.
Toni Schwartz, public information officer for the state Attorney General’s Office, said Attorney General Anne Lopez “does not have a statement to provide at this time” about the case. Schwartz said additional information will be provided to lawmakers once they schedule a hearing on the bill to pay the claim.
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