The medical care company for correctional facilities discussed in previous segments of this series has continued to provide mental and physical health care services in jails throughout the United States. Controversy continues.

At one jail in which inmates were under the care of the company accused of medical neglect in various cases involving custodial death, a 40-year-old businessman was serving a 5-day jail sentence for a misdemeanor in 2018.

On the night of the man’s arrest, the medical staff at the health care company was contacted twice with reports from a deputy saying the inmate had signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. On the following day, the inmate complained that he was experiencing nausea, anxiety, and tremors. He is seen on surveillance video pacing, picking at his skin, and beating against the walls.

At 6 a.m. the following morning, he was sent to the infirmary and was placed in an observation cell. Records show that at 7:30 a.m., he passed out while sitting on a toilet. A nurse checked on the inmate after another 8 minutes passed, and he was unresponsive.

Staff members for the health care company attempted to provide the inmate with oxygen, but the oxygen tank was either broken or empty. A surveillance video captures the use of a defibrillator on the inmate, but the battery was low and the device did not deliver a jolt.

The inmate suffered a heart attack and then went into a coma. Records from the jail show that the inmate never saw a physician while he was incarcerated for those three days. He died a few weeks later, having never come out of the coma.

Find out more about this story on alleged medical neglect in jails in Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of this 13-part series.

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–Guest Contributor