A Polish man from Lancashire in the United Kingdom dies in custody due to critical “failings” by police, medical staff and a language interpreter.

Bogdan Wilk, a 54-year-old resident of Preston, was being detained at a police station following his arrest on suspicion of assault. But what the police did not know at the time was that Mr. Wilk, who apparently did not speak English, suffered from a serious heart condition and had undergone two operations since surviving a heart attack in 2007.

According to a UK blog, the interpreter responsible for translating Mr. Wilk’s comments at the station did not relay to police officers that he was experiencing chest pains, and the medication Mr. Wilk used to treat these pains was not made available to him at the station. He was found dead in his cell the following morning.

An investigation later determined that Mr. Wilk died from a coronary atheroma, and a jury’s appraisal of the handling by police, medical and translation professionals, was damning:

“We think it more probable than not that the joint failings of police, medical and translation procedures are all contributing factors to the death of Mr. Wilk.”

Andy Cooke, assistant chief constable at Lancashire police, said: “This was a tragic case and we express sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Wilk.

“We await the coroner’s formal notification which we will study closely and act upon as quickly as possible to try and ensure we minimize the risk of this type of incident occurring again.”

Alex Dupont

See Also

• More about medical interpretation
  Language Translation, Inc. maintains a comprehensive database of Medical Certified Interpreters. No matter the location, our agency can assist you with interpreters for all of your important communications in the medical field.
• Preston man dies due to failings by police, nurse and interpreter by Ryan Owen Gibson
  A Polish man from Preston has died in custody due to critical ?failings? by police, medical staff and a language interpreter.