Sequel Youth & Family Services: Federal Lawsuit Seeks $50 Million for Restraint Death of Teenager

October 6, 2021

KALAMAZOO, MI -- A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the family of Cornelius Frederick, the 16-year-old who died after being restrained at a Kalamazoo youth facility, seeks more than $50 million.

The lawsuit was filed Sept. 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan and names multiple defendants, including the corporation that ran the now-closed Lakeside Academy where Frederick's fatal injury happened.

A previous wrongful death lawsuit was filed in June 2020 in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court involving the same relative of Frederick, an aunt named Tenia Goshay, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the federal lawsuit replaces the earlier one.

The new lawsuit cites violations of Frederick's constitutional rights and includes the $50 million figure.

It names Sequel Youth & Family Services, a company that contracts with youth facilities to provide staffing, as one of the defendants.

Frederick was placed in a 10-minute restraint that resulted in a lack of blood flow and oxygen on April 29, 2020, according to a medical examiner. He never regained consciousness, and died of a heart attack May 1 at a Kalamazoo hospital.

In the lawsuit, attorneys for the family claim a lack of proper training for employees involved in restraining Frederick, as well as workers using excessive force that led to suffocation. The lawsuit also alleges that other workers failed to act to stop the injuring restraint.

Three people have been charged criminally in Frederick's death.

Heather McLogan, 49, recently was sentenced to 18 months of probation for one felony count of third-degree child abuse. She was formerly director of nursing at Lakeside Academy and was not involved in restraining Frederick, but her legal obligations meant she needed to stop it, according to her plea.

Two others, Michael Mosley and Zachary Solis, are awaiting further court proceedings.

Source: John Tunison, “Federal lawsuit seeks $50 million in teen’s death following restraint at Kalamazoo youth facility,” MLive.com, Oct. 04, 2021, URL: https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2021/10/federal-lawsuit-seeks-50-million-in-teens-death-following-restraint-at-kalamazoo-youth-facility.html