Nickolas Norberg
Nickolas Norberg, 37, died on October 17, 2022, at the Stearns County Jail in Minnesota, where he had been taken after an arrest and a hospital visit earlier that day. His family says that he had struggled for years with depression and substance use after a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. According to the family's federal wrongful death lawsuit, which names Stearns County, CentraCare and several employees, he repeatedly asked for help with breathing and water, and jail and medical staff failed to assess and treat him. The autopsy-stated cause is reported as cardiac dysfunction, and the defendants dispute the family's claims and have declined to comment while the litigation is pending.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). The official cause was cardiac dysfunction, but his family's federal wrongful death lawsuit says jail staff and medical providers ignored his pleas for help and failed to assess and treat him, and the defendants dispute those claims.
Reported by: family's federal wrongful death lawsuit (Storms Dworak) (family or their lawyers); Stearns County jail and hospital defendants (the agency that held him).
Lawsuit: His family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Stearns County, CentraCare and several individuals, alleging that jail staff and medical providers failed to treat him; no settlement or award has been reported.
Sources (4)
- Lawsuit claims negligence in 2022 death of Stearns County Jail inmate
- Lawsuit claims negligence, medical malpractice in Stearns County jail inmate’s 2022 death
- Family Sues Stearns County Jail and Hospital Over Man’s Death Due to Alleged Negligence
- Inmate pleads for help for hours before dying in cell, lawsuit says. ‘I’m going to die’