Suit Over Death in Pennsylvania Jail Settled for $500,000

A federal lawsuit filed over the death of a western Pennsylvania man in a jail cell after his family alleged he was denied proper medical treatment has been settled for $500,000.

The agreement contains no admission of wrongdoing by Fayette County prison employees in the February 2007 death of 48-year-old Terry Johnson.

The February 2009 suit filed by Lorraine Johnson of Uniontown said Terry Johnson turned himself in after he was accused of violating a restraining order.

The lawsuit said Johnson got a perforation in his intestine the following morning, and a jail nurse ran an electrocardiogram test that showed abnormal results, but no treatment was provided and he was returned to his cell. The lawsuit said Johnson was in “excruciating” pain before he died that night.