A judge is allowing a lawsuit filed by the family of a mentally ill Alexandria jail inmate who died in custody to proceed.
The sister of Farah Saleh Farah, who died of dehydration in January 2008 after having refused to take his medication for schizophrenia, sued the company that handles medical care at the facility in federal court in Alexandria in September. This month, a judge denied the company’s motion to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit alleges that the Correct Care Solutions employees — two nurses and a medical administrator — should have secured emergency care for Farah when he stopped eating and drinking and recognized that his dehydration could be fatal.
Farah had been jailed for a probation violation for carrying a concealed handgun.
In a court filing responding to the lawsuit, the company denies that Farah stopped taking his medication, that his mental condition worsened, and says his sister has not “suffered any cognizable injuries or damages as a result of any acts or omissions on the part of the defendants.”
