The county’s legal advisor said Friday it is likely county officials will deny the claim, paving the way for the parents to sue Sauk County.

During this week’s Sauk County Board meeting the supervisors were informed of a notice of claim filed with the county by Janet and Melvin Ramsey stemming from the death of their son, Christopher L. Ramsey, 19, in the Sauk County jail.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, jail staff found Christopher Ramsey about 4:15 a.m. on July 30 after he strangled himself with a twisted bedsheet. He was rushed to St. Clare Hospital, then transferred to University Hospital in Madison where he died August 3 after several days on life support.

An investigation by detectives of the Dane County Sheriff’s Department found no wrongdoing by either jail staff or other inmates in Ramsey’s death.

The Ramsey family claim charges jail staff "knew or should have known that the risk of self-harm existed, and the authorities failed to take reasonable precautions to guard against the harm ... and such authorities failed to provide and deprived Christopher Ramsey with needed and required reasonably adequate medical, psychiatric and psychological care and treatment for his psychological and emotional disorders," the claim states.

The claim’s tally of damages to Christopher Ramsey and his family includes: $350,000 for loss of society, $80,000 for conscious pain and suffering and $60,000 in medical expenses.

After the claim was presented to the board it was referred to the Executive and Legislative Committee for review, as is the regular procedure, said County Clerk Beverly Mielke.

The county’s insurance carrier has already seen the claim and the E&L Committee will recommend to the Board of Supervisors what action to take next, said Alene Kleczek, Sauk County’s legal counsel. The claim will be returned to the board for final action.

"I would expect that this would be denied," she said.

Filing a claim is part of the process by which citizens can raise a complaint or demand damages from a government body, Kleczek said. The government body is not required to take action on the claim, though Sauk County generally does.

"(Melvin and Janet Ramsey) do have the right to go to circuit court afterwards," she said.