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Family of suicide victim sues prison consultant
Doctor failed to document teen's problem, they allege
WILLIAMSPORT -- A psychiatric consultant is now a defendant in a federal lawsuit over the 2006 suicide of Ryan Francis in the Northumberland County Prison.
U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III this week granted an unopposed motion to include Dr. Frederick Maue in the lawsuit the Francis estate has brought against the county, Warden Ralph Reish and prison staff.
The defense sought to have Dr. Maue brought into the litigation because of his Dec. 17 deposition in which, according to a court document, he testified Mr. Francis was the most suicidal inmate he had seen in approximately 30 years of examining and treating prisoners.
Mr. Francis, 18, survived a Feb. 26, 2006, fatal fire in TrevFeb. 26, 2006, fatal fire in Trevorton in which his girlfriend, mother, stepmother and two others were killed. He was arrested when he became disruptive at his girlfriend's funeral.
He was unable to post bail and was committed to the prison, where he hanged himself with a bed sheet in his cell on March 9, 2006.
Dr. Maue, who evaluated Mr. Francis, testified at his deposition that he recommended the teen be placed under a "close" suicide watch, but did not order constant observation or placement in a special cell with no fixtures from which an inmate might hang himself, the court document states.
The consultant is accused in the court complaint of not documenting his opinion Mr. Francis was likely to commit suicide. Thus, a nurse removed him from a 15-minute watch, which is standard procedure for new inmates.
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