By D.E. Smoot
Phoenix Staff Writer
Sat, May 17 2008
—
A local woman filed a negligence claim against the Muskogee County sheriff and two unidentified jail employees who allegedly denied her medical care. Officials deny the allegations.
According to the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Muskogee County District Court, Emma May experienced several seizures while being held in 2006 on a complaint of driving under the influence. May never was charged in connection with the DUI arrest.
The petition alleges jail employees ignored pleas for help and “repeatedly refused” to secure medical care for May. The petition alleges May fell from her bunk “after 12 hours of seizure activity ... and was rendered unconscious” before medical care was sought.
Muskogee lawyer Corrine O’Day of Avyn Litigation and Mediation Services Inc. said May was “diagnosed as being in the midst of a heart attack” upon her arrival at Muskogee Regional Medical Center.
O’Day, in the petition, states the unidentified jail employees deprived May of her constitutional right to medical care while she was incarcerated. O’Day alleges that deprivation resulted from Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson’s failure to “adequately train and educate his deputies.”
Pearson said he is confident his staff handled May’s situation properly and in accordance with jail policy. He said jail employees are trained to deal with inmates who exhibit alcohol- or drug-related withdrawal symptoms.
“We take measures to help them get through those situations and make it as comfortable for them as we can,” Pearson said, noting a large part of the jail’s expenditures for medication are for drugs typically administered to patients experiencing withdrawal seizures. “Based upon the knowledge I have of this case, I believe we acted properly and any damage that might have occurred would have happened anyway.”
According to the lawsuit, May sustained numerous physical injuries that are permanent and disabling. Those injuries, the petition states, were caused by the defendants’ denial of medical care.
“At our agency we think the world of Charles Pearson and hate he has these problems at his jail,” O’Day said. “Perhaps this case will help demonstrate to the county commissioners and the voting public he simply does not have enough money to take care of his inmates properly.”
Reach D.E. Smoot at 684-2903 or dsmoot@muskogeephoenix.com.
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