A man in Minnesota has been awarded a $12.2 million settlement after suffering severe health complications while in jail on suspicion of drunken driving, reports CBS News. 

Terrance Dwayne Winborn lost both his hands and experienced a heart attack, stroke, and skin lesions. His attorneys claim that these conditions were a result of negligence by officials in the county jail who failed to provide him with necessary medical treatment during his 39-hour incarceration.

“That deliberate indifference allowed a bacterial infection to run rampant within his body, leading to a heart attack … and a host of other devastating and permanent injuries,”

attorney Katie Bennett told reporters.

Attorneys confirmed that the settlement will cover Winborn’s medical bills, which have already exceeded $2 million, as well as future care expenses. Winborn’s lawyers presented a video showcasing his struggles in everyday tasks without hands, such as feeding himself, leading him to eat only two meals a day.

“I don’t sleep because every time I dream, I dream I have my hands, you know. And I wake up, they’re gone again,”

Winborn said in the video.

“I’d rather have my hands than anything.”

Winborn was arrested in Shakopee on August 27, 2020, for drunk driving. According to authorities, his blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit, and he began vomiting later that morning. Despite showing concerning symptoms, including a swollen hand and difficulty answering questions, a jail nurse did not seek emergency care.

Winborn’s condition deteriorated, and he was eventually sent to a larger hospital in Minneapolis, where doctors had to amputate his hand and part of his forearm due to a severe bacterial infection. His weight dropped significantly, and later his left arm had to be amputated as well. Jail videos that could have provided crucial evidence were destroyed, and officials claimed to have no recollection of the events. 

#Clique, what are your thoughts?