Restraint Asphyxia Attorneys in California
Restraint asphyxia can occur when police restrain a person face down on the ground (prone), and put prolonged weight on the person’s back, neck, or even limbs – sometimes, but not always, after there has been a struggle or use of a Taser. Sometimes police officers violate their training and fail to place a restrained person on their side after being handcuffed on the ground to allow them to catch their breath. Those types of improper restraints can impair the person’s ability to breathe and can lead to death by asphyxia. Very often, the person being restrained will try to tell the officers that they cannot breathe, like Eric Garner did before he was killed by the NYPD and like several of our clients have done.
Restraint asphyxia is sometimes called positional asphyxia or compression asphyxia. Death by restraint Asphyxia is often misdiagnosed as a sudden heart attack or as “excited delirium” – a cause of death reserved for suspicious deaths arising in connection with law enforcement contacts. Very often the person killed was intoxicated, overweight, or mentally ill. Restraint asphyxia attorneys need to be very skilled and experienced to prove a restraint asphyxia case. Such cases require extensive medical evidence and expertise in addition expertise with law enforcement and wrongful death cases.
The experience, creativity, and aggressive representation of the restraint asphyxia attorneys at Haddad & Sherwin LLP have allowed us to obtain justice for many families who have lost loved ones to restraint asphyxia caused by improper police, security, or jail restraints. Our restraint asphyxia case victories usually include compensation for families plus reforms – new police department policies and training to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Contact a Restraint Asphyxia Attorney on Oakland, CA
Our Bay Area, California, restraint asphyxia lawyers are ready and able to help you and your family obtain justice for unlawful deadly force, law enforcement deaths, and other wrongful death. Contact us today to get a free consultation with an experienced, Oakland-based restraint asphyxia attorney. We handle cases throughout Northern and Central California, from the Bay Area to Monterey to Fresno to Sacramento to Lake Tahoe to Redding to Yreka to Crescent City to Eureka to Santa Rosa, San Francisco, San Jose, Alameda County, and more! View all cities served >