Family Sues Stearns County Jail and Hospital Over Man’s Death Due to Alleged Negligence

(KNSI) – The family of a man who died while being detained at the Stearns County Jail is suing.

Nickolas Daniel Norberg’s father and the mother of his children recently filed a lawsuit against CentraCare, St. Cloud Hospital, and Stearns County, alleging the organization failed to provide proper medical care, allowing the 37-year-old to die.

Norberg was arrested on October 16th after he was discovered naked and unconscious in the Walmart bathroom in St. Cloud after buying a dozen aerosol dust removal sprays and spending three hours huffing six of them. Police say they needed to use a Taser twice to subdue Norberg. According to the lawsuit, Norberg had suffered a traumatic brain injury after a serious car accident a few years ago. His family says after that, he started self-medicating with inhalants for depression and addiction.

After his arrest for misdemeanor use of an intoxicating substance,
Norberg was brought to St. Cloud Hospital. While in the squad car waiting to go inside, he was handcuffed behind his back and is heard on camera struggling to breathe, complaining he was dying and could feel his heart pounding. Once inside, he claimed he had a heart attack and begged for water. Court records say he was examined at the hospital, and after about an hour, he was cleared to go to jail despite signs of distress.

Norberg’s family attorney says while at the jail, he still showed he was suffering a medical emergency but was never properly treated. His official cause of death was dysfunction of the organs. He also had a history of hypertension.

The lawsuit says the county asks for a jury to financially compensate Norbeg’s surviving family. Records accuse medical providers and the county of violating Norberg’s 14th amendment rights, wrongful death due to medical malpractice and Medical Malpractice for negligence.

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