Andrew Leighton
Andrew Leighton, 51, died in his cell at Maine State Prison in Warren on October 1, 2018. His father, Thomas Leighton, has sued Wellpath, the company that provided medical care at the prison, saying staff failed to treat an infection in his neck and salivary glands that he had sought help for in the weeks before his death. The autopsy, as reported in the lawsuit, found acute inflammation at the base of the tongue and in the neck, with complications from asthma and sepsis. Wellpath did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The family's attorney called his death a tragedy that never should have happened.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (neglect alleged). The Maine Chief Medical Examiner's autopsy attributed the death to inflammation and sepsis from a throat infection, and his father's wrongful death lawsuit against Wellpath alleges that delays in diagnosing and treating that infection caused it.
Reported by: State of Maine Chief Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); Thomas Leighton, his father, through a wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family sued Wellpath, the contractor that provided medical care at Maine State Prison, over delayed treatment of an infection before his death in October 2018.