GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As authorities investigate the death of a Montcalm County Jail inmate, legal experts say there may be grounds for a potential lawsuit.
Amber Bills, 34, died Sunday. She had been in jail for eight days, according to relatives.
Sheriff Mike Williams said Bills was found unresponsive in her cell. Early autopsy results show Bills had a stomach ulcer that split open. Williams released a statement saying that that perforated ulcer was undiagnosed.
However, multiple attorneys say that doesn't automatically mean that jail employees can't be held liable.
Karen Zwyghuizen, Bills' mother, told 24 Hour News 8 that at least one inmate contacted her saying that Bills had complained for hours about extreme stomach pain. That inmate reportedly told Zwyghuizen that guards told Bills to "man up" and wait until Wednesday, when she was scheduled to be released.