Jail staff ignored man having a seizure until he died in GA, mom’s lawsuit says
A federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of a man detained in a northwest Georgia jail says medical staff withheld his prescription medicine, then ignored his deadly seizure, which went on for more than 45 minutes.
Bradley Jacob Fullerton was 40 when he died Oct. 19, 2023, according to his obituary, which says he lived in Athens, “a city where he found much happiness.”
“There was no one like him,” reads his obituary. “He was so loved, and he loved so very many.”
The seizure leading to Fullerton’s death began shortly after he arrived at the Bartow County Jail on Oct. 17, 2023, according to a complaint filed Aug. 14 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
He was transferred to Bartow County from the Cherokee County Jail, where he spent two months following his arrest in August 2023, the complaint says. The reason for his arrest was not specified.
Both jails have the same medical provider, CorrectHealth, the complaint says.
Fullerton’s mother, Debbie Fullerton, is suing the Atlanta-based company, its Bartow and Cherokee County affiliates, as well as two CorrectHealth nurses and a physician, for negligence. She seeks to hold the parties liable for her son’s suffering.
CorrectHealth did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment Aug. 29.
Bradley Fullerton, according to his obituary, “had a very simple philosophy in life: Life is short, live it.”
“He stressed that life is precious and short, and the most important thing in life is how you treat people,” his obituary says.
Detained without medication
Cherokee County Jail’s medical staff gave Bradley Fullerton doses of his seizure medication the day of his transfer to the Bartow County Jail, but they never sent his medicine with him, according to the complaint, which says it was crucial for him to receive his doses.
Bradley Fullerton had aphasia, a condition that affects a person’s ability to communicate, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. It is known to affect people after a stroke.
Bradley Fullerton had a prior stroke, according to the lawsuit, and also lived with a pacemaker. He was prescribed Keppra and Topamax for seizures.
When Bradley Fullerton arrived at the Bartow County Jail, he told a nurse about his seizure medications, according to the filing, which says the nurse then reached out to his fiancée, who confirmed his medical needs.
Though the jail’s pharmacy was stocked with the medicine he needed, and him being housed near the facility’s infirmary, medical staff never gave him his prescriptions, the filing says.
“Mr. Fullerton repeatedly requested his medications from medical staff,” the complaint states.
He wasn’t given his medicine, according to the complaint, “on the pretext of needing to verify his prescriptions.”
Without it, medical staff knew he “was at a much greater risk of having seizures” and that his “pacemaker and heart condition put him at a greater risk of severe medical complications and even death,” the complaint says.
The seizure
The evening of Oct. 18, 2023, Bradley Fullerton realized a seizure was beginning and was having tremors, according to the lawsuit.
When the tremors “worsened,” he “placed his mattress on the floor to avoid harming himself if he began seizing and fell from his bed,” the complaint says.
Bradley Fullerton laid on his mattress and asked his cellmate to get him medical attention, according to the complaint.
After his cellmate did so, a CorrectHealth nurse, one of the defendants, and an officer visited his cell, where the nurse checked his vitals and left, the complaint says.
“Knowing a seizure was imminent, he requested help again,” the complaint states.
The nurse came back and said “he could wait until he got his medication,” adding that he “was not having a real emergency,” according to the filing.
She warned him against further calls for help, the complaint says.
An hour later, Bradley Fullerton’s cellmate sought help because Fullerton was having convulsions, according to the filing.
The nurse and a second nurse went to his cell and called the on-call CorrectHealth physician, but the doctor did not pick up, the complaint says. The second nurse and the doctor are also defendants in the case.
Instead of calling for an ambulance, the nurses waited for more than 20 minutes and “did nothing as Mr. Fullerton continued seizing,” according to the filing.
A seizure that is more than five minutes is a serious emergency, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, which warns 911 should be called in that event.
After about 23 minutes of Bradley Fullerton having a seizure, the doctor called the nurses and told them to give him his medications, the complaint says.
Seven minutes later, the nurses phoned the doctor, saying they could not do so, “because of his seizure activity,” according to the filing.
The lawsuit says the doctor never told them to call emergency services.
“Approximately forty-five minutes after (the nurses) found Mr. Fullerton convulsing on the floor, Mr. Fullerton had no detectable pulse,” the complaint says.
The nurses called EMS after they found him without a pulse, according to the filing.
Bradley Fullerton died because the staff were “deliberately indifferent” to his needs and were “medically negligent,” the complaint says.
The Bartow County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment Aug. 29.
With her lawsuit, Debbie Fullerton requests a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages.
Bradley Fullerton, according to his obituary, was also survived by his partner, who he would call his “other half,” his father, his sisters, and seven “beloved nieces and nephews.”
“He was the most resilient and amazing human, and this world was richer for having him in it,” his obituary says. “Life presented him with an abundance of challenges, but he never failed to find something positive in any situation.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Jail staff ignored man having a seizure until he died in GA, mom’s lawsuit says."
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