Zachary J. Sahm
Zachary J. Sahm, 27, died on September 13, 2023, after a corrections officer found him in medical distress at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, and he died at a local hospital about 90 minutes later. A federal lawsuit filed by his estate administrator, Shelley R. Ponist, says he was suffering from opioid withdrawal, that medical staff were deliberately indifferent to his worsening condition, and that a 911 call was classified as nonemergent. The lawsuit also says paramedics took nearly half an hour to arrive and that his death was caused by acute heart failure due to opioid withdrawal and side effects of treatment medication. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office has not yet determined the manner of death, and the state's reporting dashboard lists it as an accident.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). His estate's federal lawsuit says medical staff were deliberately indifferent to his worsening opioid withdrawal, delayed emergency care, and that heart failure from withdrawal and medication side effects caused his death, while the medical examiner's cause and manner were still pending and the state commission lists the manner as accident.
Reported by: his estate's lawsuit (estate administrator Shelley R. Ponist) (family or their lawyers); Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (outside investigators).
Lawsuit: His estate sued in federal court alleging medical staff at Allegheny County Jail were deliberately indifferent to his worsening withdrawal; no settlement or award amount is reported.