A man was booked to serve 90 days in a jail that utilized a private health care provider. He became critically ill but was repeatedly denied adequate medical attention. Eventually, he was taken to a hospital where he almost died. The jail inmate lost six toes and a portion of his left lung. The man also suffered from endocarditis, which is easy to diagnose and treat. But because he was allegedly denied medical care, he had to have a heart valve replacement for exacerbated symptoms of endocarditis.

Not long after the inmate arrived at the jail, he started experiencing health problems. Breathing became difficult and he was barely able to walk due to intense pain. It is alleged that signs of infection in the inmate were obvious, but the health care providers gave him an EKG, which is not a procedure that detects infections. The man’s symptoms were allegedly ignored entirely after his EKG was found to be normal.

As time passed, one of the guards at the jail expressed his thoughts that the man probably needed medical care. He described the inmate as being yellowish and having a hard time walking. It was another four days before medical personnel visited the inmate’s cell. It was discovered at that time that the inmate’s blood pressure was alarmingly low. Blood tests showed abnormal results, yet the antibiotics that would allegedly have cured him easily were denied.

After more time passed, guards became so alarmed over the condition of the inmate that they called 9-1-1 instead of the health care organization the jail had a contract with. They had witnessed that the inmate could not seem to sit up. His skin looked unnaturally yellow, and he was urinating and defecating on himself.

See this continuing series to learn more about what happened to the inmate and about inmates’ rights in Texas jails.

–Guest Contributor