Every citizen has the right to proper medical treatment, even those who are inmates at a detention center. Pennsylvania residents may be interested in a recent lawsuit that was filed in another state against a detention center and a health care company that services the facility. An inmate alleges medical malpractice and civil-rights violations.
According to the report, the female inmate’s incarceration followed her guilty plea to drug charges. She claims to have been ignored when asking for medical help when she suffered breathing problems and chest pains. She alleges that it took several days to convince officers to allow her to go to the infirmary, and even though her condition was serious, it took several more days to admit her to the hospital.
She apparently had inflammation in her heart, which led to open-heart surgery, and it is reported that she may need more surgery. The woman asserts that the surgery could have been avoided if she had received timely medical care. She is accusing the detention center of negligence in the training and supervising of staff and failing to provide sufficient medical care to inmates at the jail. The county that runs the detention center denies all allegations, claiming that the woman’s condition showed symptoms similar to that of the flu, and the severity could not have been anticipated.
Pennsylvania residents — or their loved ones — who have been denied proper medical treatment while incarcerated may want to obtain professional help in pursuing recovery of damages. By filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in a civil court, the individual may be awarded monetary judgment in compensation for medical and other expenses. Depending on the details of the case, the court may award additional damages as deemed appropriate by the laws of the state.
Source: abqjournal.com, “Ex-inmate sues, says medical care withheld”, Dan McKay, July 23, 2014