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Family sues Valley Street jail in man’s 2019 death

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Writer | Apr 13, 2020

CONCORD – The family of Nicholas Sacco, the 24-year-old man who died last year after being found unresponsive in his cell at Valley Street jail, is suing the corrections department and two medics associated with the jail.

Sacco, whose last known address was in Manchester, died on May 22, six days after he was jailed on a 72-hour hold for a probation violation, according to Attorney Anthony Carr, who is representing Sacco’s family in the suit.

Carr filed the suit Friday in U.S. District Court for New Hampshire. The suit names the Hillsborough County House of Corrections, the American Institutional Medical Group, Dr. Christopher Braga and Christopher Schweiger, a physician’s assistant, according to Carr.

Braga and Schweiger are contracted through the medical group to care for Valley Street jail inmates, Carr said.

Also named are so-called “Doe defendants,” a series of unnamed nurses and other medical care personnel at the jail, as well as correctional officers, said Carr, who is a partner in the Manchester-based practice Shaheen & Gordon.

He said Sacco, upon being found unconscious in his cell, was transported to Elliot Hospital in Manchester, where he died of opioid-related withdrawal.

Carr asserts that Sacco “repeatedly asked for medical attention (but) was ignored … we fully intend to show to a jury that Nick’s death was not just avoidable, but senseless,” Carr wrote.

He also criticized Valley Street jail as having “a long history of issues, including complete disregard for the needs of the inmates.”

In a statement provided by Carr, Sacco’s mother, Joanne Sacco, said the family “is devastated by the loss of our son Nicholas.

“Our hope is that some good can come out of all of this, and that no family ever has to go through what we have gone through.”

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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