IONIA, Mich. (AP) — The family of an inmate who died of water poisoning in April 2014 has settled a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections.
The Grand Rapids Press reported Thursday the lawsuit filed by relatives of 40-year-old Kenneth Dalstra was settled for $1.1 million. The suit alleged that staff at the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia didn’t do enough to help Dalstra.
The lawsuit says Dalstra drank large amounts of water due to a compulsion to consume liquids sometimes seen in people with mental health problems. He was mentally unstable in the days before his death, and the suit claimed staff “acted with deliberate indifference” to his health.
Prison officials have denied that allegation.
Dalstra was serving 3 ½ years to 75 years for first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
