Lawsuit: Inmate's death caused by poor care from Will County Sheriff's Office, medical provider

The wife of a Bolingbrook man who died while serving a six-month sentence at the Will County jail filed a lawsuit that claims his death was the result of “inadequate medical care and inhumane treatment."

Jacob Adejola, 64, was jailed March 18 to serve his sentence for driving while his license was revoked or suspended, according to sheriff's office and jail records.

The sheriff’s office said Adejola had been hospitalized because of "abnormal lab results” and he died May 4, 2019, the day after he was transferred to a hospital.

"The Will County Coroner's Office was contacted, and the results of the report indicate that Mr. Adejola died of natural causes resulting from cardiac arrhythmia," or an irregular heartbeat, according to the sheriff's office.

Adejola’s wife, Gislese Hall-Adejola, claimed in the lawsuit filed on the anniversary of his death that the sheriff’s office and Wellpath, the jail’s medical provider, failed to provide adequate medical care for him.

“Jacob left behind a loving family who still have questions over how a generally healthy man can be taken into custody and die less than two months later,” the lawsuit said.

Hall-Adejola’s lawsuit said she filed it not only to get answers as to how and why he died but to “bring to light the constitutionally deficient medical treatment provided to inmates at the Will County jail.”

Sheriff spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said the sheriff’s office “does not make comments regarding pending litigation.”

Adejola’s earliest symptoms began March 28, 2019, when he felt lightheaded, and he was transferred to the jail’s medical unit, the lawsuit said. Then on April 12, 2019, he complained to guards he was “having a difficult time breathing and that he had pain in his chest.”

A Wellpath nurse eventually evaluated Adejola and determined he didn’t need to see a doctor, the lawsuit said.

“The refusal to have Jacob Adejola evaluated for potential heart problems – or any medical condition – was an obvious risk that departed radically from accepted professional judgment, practice or standards,” the lawsuit said.

Adejola later had difficulty eating and was documented as having an “altered mental status,” the lawsuit said. He also lost 28 pounds in the 36 days he was in custody, the lawsuit said.

Hall-Adejola’s lawsuit also claimed AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center staff were not told of her husband’s chest pains and breathing issues when he was hospitalized.

“This prevented the St. Joseph’s medical staff from being able to accurately and completely evaluate Jacob Adejola,” the lawsuit said.