Brick Man's Widow Awarded $1.5M In OC Jail Suicide: Report

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The widow of a Brick Township man has been awarded $1.5 million after an Ocean County jury found the county corrections department negligent in the man's hanging death in the jail, according to a report.

Kenneth Conforti, 45, of Brick, was found hanging in his cell on Oct. 20, 2010; according to a report by the Asbury Park Press, Conforti had chronic back pain from an injury suffered on the job and a significant addiction to pain medication and alcohol.

The report said Conforti was jailed twice in the span of two months. During his first jail stay, the jail made accommodations, including an extra mattress for his back condition, 10 days of prescription Motrin for pain and five days of medication for alcohol withdrawal. But during the second stay, he did not receive medical attention or any provisions to alleviate the back pain until just before he hanged himself, even though they had notes regarding his issues, the report said.

Jail officials contended they had doen everything required.

Read more about the case and verdict here.

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