Birmingham company sued after man dies from bleeding ulcer in Georgia jail

The family of a 26-year-old Dacula, Georgia man who died from a bleeding intestinal ulcer in the Gwinnett County Jail two years ago is suing the lockup’s health care contractor for medical malpractice.

Filed in Gwinnett State Court Friday, the 12-page lawsuit accuses Birmingham-based NaphCare and some physicians and nurses of failing to provide adequate and timely care to Deion Strayhon. His cause of death in April 2021 was hemorrhage of an ulcer in his small intestine, according to a Gwinnett County Medical Examiner report.

Strayhon, who died about five weeks before his daughter was born, was being held without bond on charges including aggravated assault and gun and drug counts, jail records show.

“I want justice for my son and for my granddaughter,” said his mother, Sherry Strayhon. “And I am hoping by this going forth that it will prevent it from happening in the future.”

NaphCare and the Gwinnett Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Strayhon started designing clothing before his death, according to his mother, who described him as entrepreneurial, happy and encouraging.

He was among 34 people who died after being held in Gwinnett’s jail between 2009 and October of 2022, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation. Two men held there in 2021 and 2022 died after the jail sent them to the hospital. One of them was granted bond while hospitalized. The other was granted bond the day he hanged himself in the jail and was taken to the hospital, where he died two days later.

In response to questions last year about those deaths, the Gwinnett Sheriff’s Office said it “prioritizes the safety and security of inmates and employees. The agency utilizes structured policies, procedures, and protocols to safeguard all inmates while they are in our custody.”