The estates of two Allentown men who died by suicide in Lehigh County Jail are suing the county and the the company that is contracted to provide medical services to inmates, alleging both were responsible for their deaths.
The estates of Arturo Wright and Forest Touchberry filed separate lawsuits in federal court in July, both alleging that the county and Dauphin County-based PrimeCare Medical failed to take the necessary measures to protect the men.
Touchberry, 31, died on March 13, 2025, and Wright, 32, died Aug. 27, 2024. Both men were found unresponsive at the jail and were taken to a hospital, where they died from their injuries.
Philadelphia attorneys Laura Zipin and Brian Zeigler, who are representing the estates in both lawsuits, wrote in court documents that the deaths were not isolated, and noted there had been three other suicides since 2022, including one in late June.
The suits reference the death of Cheryl Phillips, who died by suicide at the jail in 2022. Phillips’ estate also is suing the county and PrimeCare, claiming she had been removed from psychiatric observation despite a history of suicidal ideation, and she was denied her methadone, forcing her to detox. Her estate alleges the county and Primecare were negligent.
PrimeCare attorneys have denied the allegations in the Phillips suit, saying she received the necessary care, according to court documents. That lawsuit remains active in federal court.
Both Touchberry and Wright had a documented risk of self-harm before they were found unresponsive in their cells, the lawsuits state. In both deaths, no one had checked the cells in a long time, the suit alleges. Zipin and Zeigler wrote that the county and PrimeCare failed to recognize and respond to the obvious risk of suicide or self-harm.
The suits also name the jail employee and PrimeCare employees they say are responsible for the men’s care. Their identities are not known.
Touchberry was serving a four- to 23-month sentence in the jail on a misdemeanor of access device fraud charge when he died. Wright was in jail on charges of strangulation and making terroristic threats, and had only been incarcerated a few days before his death.
An attorney for PrimeCare declined to comment when reached. Lehigh County spokesperson Daniel Sheehan said the county is aware of the lawsuits, but cannot comment on pending litigation.