Now-Deceased Casper Man’s Suit Against Natrona County Jail Inches Toward Closure
On Jan. 7, 2020, Franklin Ross Allen was jailed at the Natrona County Detention Center for conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance. Court filings indicate Allen had been diagnosed with stage four bladder cancer.
The following June, Allen filed a Civil Rights complaint with the United States District Court of Wyoming. He wrote that the Natrona County Detention Center refused to give him the medical treatment he needed as well as see a doctor and refused to take him to the Emergency Room until he threatened to file a grievance. Allen says the jail left him in "Extreme Pain" for 56 days.
At one point, he did file a grievance, which was denied. He appealed, but wrote that he never heard back.
"I want paid for my 56 days of Extreme Pain $5,000,000 and I want another $5,000,000 because they shortened my life to three months because they refused to get me treatment on time" wrote Allen in the initial complaint.
He died on Sep. 6, 2021.
The original defendants in this case included the Natrona County Detention Center, the NCDC Supervisor, three NCDC nurses, and the NCDC physician, MD Johnny Tooke. All defendants were dismissed by the court except Tooke who is represented by attorneys Andrew Sears, Patrick Michael Brady, and Noah Sahr Grovenstein.
Carolyn Rosemary Domanoski was appointed as the Personal Representative of Allen's estate on November 30, 2021, by the First Judicial District Court for the state of Wyoming on behalf of Allen's lawful decedents. She is being represented by attorneys John H Robinson and Marci Anne Bramlet.
Court filings from Domanoski allege that Allen made daily complaints to jail staff about severe pain, yet was often dismissed without being seen by the Natrona County Detention Center physician or given pain medication.
On Nov. 2, the parties reached a settlment pursuant to a Tenth Circuit mediation.
The latest court filings were entered into public record on Nov. 3, stating that Domanoski has until Dec. 8, 2023 to finalize a settlement with Dr. Tooke, and until Dec. 18 to file appropriate dismissal papers.
We have reached out to Allen's attorneys but have not heard back. If more information about the terms become available we will update this story.
* NOTE: We have omitted a sentence at the end of this article stating that settlements with government agencies are typically not public knowledge. NCSD was dismissed. We have reached out to the detention center with further questions and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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