Personal injury attorney Darl Champion and The Champion Firm team recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Aaron Gilpin, the father of 18-year-old Braxton Gilpin, who tragically died while in Houston County Detention Center custody in April 2023. Braxton’s death was preventable, but the negligence of the jail’s medical staff resulted in him passing away from an untreated brain hemorrhage just days after turning 18.
Many personal injury law firms will not take on jail and prison injury cases and decline these cases with minimal consideration. At The Champion Firm, we don’t have that mindset. We have taken on and won a number of jail and prison injury cases. It is our firm’s stance that all people, regardless of their life circumstances, deserve basic human dignity, respect, and justice for their mistreatment at the hands of others.
A Preventable Tragedy
Around 7 P.M. on April 3, 2023, a Houston County Sheriff’s Deputy arrested Braxton after the teenager got into a physical fight with his foster brothers. During the fight, Braxton was hit above his right eye, hard enough that he temporarily lost consciousness.
Braxton was arrested for his involvement in the altercation and booked into Houston County Detention Center, at which time he told deputies that he had a medical condition called Hemophilia B, a blood-clotting disorder that makes sufferers more likely to bleed excessively when injured.
Despite medical staff at the jail being made aware of Braxton’s medical condition and that he had experienced a serious head injury, he was moved to a cell in general population and was not scheduled for medical treatment or evaluation until the next day.
During that night, Braxton’s cellmate observed him vomiting and he was found unresponsive in his cell the next morning. When deputies responded to him, Braxton was unable to sit up on his own and was not coherent.
Despite the severity of his condition, Braxton was taken to the prison infirmary and left without medical care or monitoring for the next three hours. By the time he received proper medical attention, it was too late. Braxton was declared brain dead on April 6th and his official time of death was recorded on April 7th at 3:06 AM.
His cause of death was determined to be a brain hemorrhage.
Gilpin v. CorrectHealth LLC: Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed
Braxton deserved better. He was an 18-year-old kid in jail for a minor offense. Intake documents at the jail note that he was polite and calm, saying he “followed all orders normally and used manners.”
He didn’t deserve to have his life cut short by the deliberate indifference and negligence of medical staff at the prison. We are representing Braxton’s father in this case knowing that no settlement reached can ever make up for the loss of Braxton’s life. Our goal is to provide some sense of justice to Braxton’s family and to hold those liable for his death accountable.
Our lawsuit names multiple defendants, including CorrectHealth (the company contracted to provide medical care at the jail), several licensed practical nurses, and Houston County deputies.
We are asking for a jury trial and for those responsible to be held accountable under the law.
No family should have to wonder if more could have been done. No one should have to die as a result of indifference and inaction.
We will pursue every legal avenue available to get answers and accountability for the Gilpin family, and we trust that the legal process will unfold in due course.
If you or a person you love has been injured by someone else’s negligence, contact us today for a free evaluation of your case. You can also read our reviews and testimonials from past clients here or learn more about other cases we’ve won for clients here.
