BUFFALO, N.Y. — The mother of a man who died after suffering a medical emergency while an inmate at the Erie County Holding Center has filed a lawsuit against Erie County, the Erie County Sheriff, and the supervisors and staff involved in the 2022 incident.
The lawsuit was filed by Christine Riordan on behalf of the Sean Rirodan Estate.
Attorneys for the family say Riordan suffered a cardiac arrest on June 5, 2022, while in jail. The lawsuit claims the cardiac arrest was caused by a "lack of adequate medical attention, care, and treatment and/or unlawful force."
Sean Riordan was in the custody of the Erie County Sheriff's Office when he suffered a medical episode.
According to the lawsuit, "medics found Sean Riordan laying unresponsive on a mattress on the floor of the health center. His body was cold to the touch, his skin was mottled and blue. The medics went to extraordinary means to save him, placed him on a stretcher, intubated him, and rushed him to the emergency room."
Riordan was declared brain-dead and placed on life support. He was taken off life support on June 14, 2022.
“By depriving people in its custody of adequate medical care, Erie County and the Sherriff have become the judge, jury, and executioner for detainees in its custody. Sean Riordan was charged with a minor traffic violation and did not deserve to be sentenced to death by medical neglect,” said Melissa Wischerath, one of the attorneys representing Riordan's family.
2 On Your Side spoke to Christine Riordan in 2022 after Sean's death. She said the last time she spoke to her son was on Saturday, June 4. Sean was in the holding center after being stopped for a traffic violation on June 1, but was held on an outstanding warrant, she said.
When they spoke, Christine Riordan said Sean sounded out of sorts and had a gravelly voice. Although her son reassured her that he would be alright, Christine said she knew something was wrong.
Two days after hearing from her son, Christine said the Erie County Sheriff's Office, which runs the holding center, told her that her son had suffered a
"medical episode" and went into cardiac arrest. She was told that Sean was revived but then fell into a coma at Buffalo General Hospital.
You can read the lawsuit here: