"These are men and women suffering in jail, prisons, camps and cages around our country. Please sign this petition to show support and demand change for these loved ones behind the wall." -- Justice Warriors
"The eighth amendment provides prisoners with limited rights of protection against cruel and unusual punishment during the course of confinement. These rights extend to the existence of humane living conditions, adequate medical care, and protection from violence by other inmates." -- ofp.gov/prison-overcrowding-eighth-amendments
Humans should NOT have to BEG JAIL STAFF, JAILERS AND DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS to treat them HUMANELY. The following story highlights what one person at Warren County Jail, in Bowling Green, Kentucky has had to endure. Thank you for reading!
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SUMMARY:
The following case is a 3 PART SERIES. A man at Warren County Regional Jail, Bowling Green, KY fell sick in April 2022. His complaints for needing medical attention were continually ignored. His condition worsened over a period of about 2 months, and he was FINALLY taken to an outside health facility but not until he was found nearly unresponsive. At the health facility he CODED BLUE for 30 seconds, and was revived.
***Prior to this happening, he and his family had contacted the Warren County Jail and the Kentucky Department of Corrections, in an attempt to obtain proper medical treatment and to expedite his transferral from WCRJ to another jail.
He filed a LAWSUIT against the WCRJ & Southern Health Partners. It was DENIED once and he APPEALED the courts decision. This appeal was also denied for LEGAL TECHNICALITIES. This appears to be the norm, as MOST inmates are forced to REPRESENT THEMSELVES and do not always present their cases properly.
As far as I know, this man was transferred eventually and still has 1 year to serve.
I am in UTTER DISMAY at the AVALANCHE of INCOMPETENCE in this case. The lack of action here and the passing of the buck never ended! As a direct result, I have ZERO FAITH in our "JUSTICE" system.
- WHY does the DOC stick people in jail and then ignore their needs?
- WHY do they put the blame on the contracted medical provider?
- The answer is simple.
- To ESCAPE ACCOUNTABILITY & LIABILITY.
- Period.
All they do is message each other back and forth, covering for each other and figuring out the best response in order to do the least amount of work and to escape liability. Sadly, they are actually making MORE WORK for themselves! If everyone involved would just DO THEIR JOBS AS ASSIGNED, we wouldn't have all of these problems.
In Part 3 of this blog series, we will review what happened with the lawsuit this man filed for lack of medical care. We wonder WHY so many men and women come out of JAIL/PRISON WORSE than when they went in? Warren County Jail boasts about "REENTRY PROGRAMS" and such . . . but in reality a stay at this shit hole is not one I would wish on my worst enemy!
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*** (By June of 2022 this particular inmate had already filed his lawsuit against the Medical company contracted by the Warren County Regional Jail. Chief Judge Greg N. Stivers, of the United States District Court ruled against the Plaintiff (inmate), but allowed him the opportunity to appeal. Which he did, but the appeal was also denied. Please read the Summary of both instances.)
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In the case of:
Harold Justin Hester v Southern Health Partners
Harold wrote in his complaint:
" . . . I was sick in mid April of "2022" and I started putting medical requests in 2 days after I started feeling ill. They took 4 whole days to finally see me the first time where at that time I told the medical staff at [WCRJ] that my heart and lungs were hurting and I couldn't breathe.
And even though I was and still am on high blood pressure medication on top of being on a cardiac diet here at [WCRJ], they never sent me to an outside hospital or even have me see an in-house nurse, which I'm sure that is Protocol.
Instead I was told that I had acid reflux and take myself back to my cell before they put me in the hole, when obviously I was in need of serious medical attention. So this goes on the same way for over a month until they finally had to do a medical all call to extract me from a top bunk where I was unconscious with a temperature of 103.9 and the EMT's had to take me to the hospital where they run can scans, EKG's, bloodwork, chest X-rays, and everything, where in fact my tests came back terrible, I had double pneumonia in both lungs.
I had deverloped a "para-cardial" effusion of my heart along with "myo-carditis" of the heart, I had to have 650 ml of fluid drained off my left lung that caused my heart to stop.
I also have been back to the hospital 3 other times admitted because of complications due the same thing due to improper medical care from [SHP] and [WCRJ]staff.
Also, all is documented as they put me in for a medical transfer to a state facility. I truly feel both Parties involved violated my civil rights with not providing proper medical care. As relief, Plaintiff seeks damages and "medical parole."
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Summary No. 1:
As I mentioned earlier, the majority of inmates are not skilled in legal terms and therefore, their lawsuits are generally thrown to the curb because of it. In order to back this idea up read the following excerpt from the ruling:
-- "In order to survive dismissal for failure to state a claim, "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'"
-- "A district court must (1) view the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and (2) take all well pleaded factual allegations as true."
-- "A pro se complain, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers."
-- "The Court's duty "does not require [it] to conjuire up unpled allegations," or to create a claim for a plaintiff.
-- "would require the Court "to explore exhaustively all potential claims of a pro se plaintiff, [and] would also transform the district court from its legitimate advisory role to the improper role of an advocate seeking out the strongest arguments and most successful strategies for a party."
Another words, since the plaintiff was representing himself and was not a legal professional and had not stated his complaint specifically, the Court had an obligation to take that into consideration, and yet they were not obliged under law to exhaust themselves as an advocate of sorts. That is not the role of the Court.
The Judge went on to state that, "Because WCRJ is not an entity subject to suit under ~ 1983, Plaintiff's claim against it is actually against Warren County."
He then cited case text of ~ Matthew v Jones 1994:
"Since the Police Department is not an entity which may be sued, County is the proper party to address the allegations of complaint."
It's also difficult to sue an "entity" that is employed by the jail, the plaintiff must "identify the policy, connect the policy to the [entity] itself and show that the particlar injury was incurred because of the execution of that policy."
Judge Stivers stated that, "the complaint contains no allegations which suggest that the alleged violation of Plaintiff's constitutional rights was the result of a custom or policy implemented or endorsed by Warren County or Southern Health Partners. Accordingly the Court will dismiss Plaintiff's claims against them for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted."
Judge Stivers also said: ". . . the Court will provide Plaintiff with the opportunity to amend the complaint to name as Defendants in their individual capacities any persons who allegedly violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment by being deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs. . . . . This can be done via the PLRA (Prison Litigation Reform Act.)"
In conclusion of the first lawsuit Hester was given 30 days to appeal the decision and to reapply. This time however, he would have to state two occurances:
- He would need to NAME AS DEFENDANTS in their individual capacities any persons who allegedly violated his rights.
- Describe the FACTS detailing what each Defendant allegedly did to violate his rights.
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Summary No. 2:
In Hesters amended complaint he named "Nurse Sammy Wilson" and "Jailer Stephen Harmon" as Defendants. He sued them both in their official and individual capacities. He also named Southern Health Partners and Warren County as Defendants.
***He made an amended complaint that stated the following:
"So first off I'm stating that I'm going to tell you that Sammy Wilson violated my constitutional rights and 8th Amendment by not giving me proper healthcare, resulting in medical malpractice and medical negligence by not seeing me after being sick for a month and a half.
And every time I told her that MY LUNGS AND HEART WERE HURTING she told me that I had heartburn and acid reflux and told me to take my "ASS" back down stairs BEFORE SHE PUT ME IN THE HOLE this happened from mid April of 2022 until May 27, 2022 until one of my cellmates come over to my bunk to see if I was alright when in fact I was unconscious with a temper of 103.9 and at that time they drug me off my bunk and cut my shirt off and layed me on the cold concrete floor and did nothing else until the EMT's got to the cell with the backboard at that time they carried me upstairs and put me on the stretcher where they immediately rushed me to the Medical Center here in Bowling Green . . .
where they ran test on me including EKG's, cat-scans, MRI, Blood work, urine samples, where they found me to have DOUBLE PNEUMONIA in both my lungs, 650 ml on my left lung, 700 ml fluid on my right lung when in turn it shifted the fluid and I went into cardiac arrest where I DIED FOR 39 SECONDS all because I didn't get proper medical care from [SHP] and the acting supervisor Sammy Wilson they had as an employee where she got terminated for medical neglegence.
And I'm also suing Jailer Stephen Harmon and Warren County for neglegence they let go on here at the WCRJ knowing good well what was going on even after Medical Grievances I had filed, they continued letting this go on time and time again, it's not right at all.
As relief, Plaintiff seeks damages."
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INTERJECTION:
Wait a second! Did "Hester" just say "Medical Grievances I had filed!?"
Didn't Harley Allen, DOC write him a letter telling him:
"A check with the jail indicates that, as of the date of my last letter to you, August 4, 2022, YOU HAVE NOT FILED ANY GRIEVANCES AT THE JAIL regarding medical." (See Part 2 of this story)
So, either Hester began filing medical grievances after he received Harley's letter directing him that that was the proper channel . . . OR . . . someone is mistaken.
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*** In conclusion on his second attempt at filing a lawsuit for medical negligence, Judge Greg Stivers final say on this appeal was:
- The Court DISMISSED the official-capacity claims against Defendants Nurse Wilson and Harmon, Warren County and Southern Health Partners for failure to state a claim.
- The Court DISMISSED the Individual Capacity claim against Jailer Steve Harmon due to "the denial of administrative grievances or the failure to act by prison officials does not subject supervisors to liability under ~1983.
- The Court DISMISSED Plaintiff's Eighth Amendment claim against Jailer Harmon's "alleged" failure to act upon medical grievances filed by Plaintiff, for "failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted."
- The Court ALLOWS Plaintiff's Eighth Amendment claim for "deliberate indifference to Plaintiff's serious medical needs to proceed against Defendant Wilson (Southern Health Partners nurse) in her individual capacity.
- The Court ALLOWS Plaintiff's "state-law negligence claims" to proceed against all Defendants.
For most of us, all of this is a lot of mumbo-jumbo for "try a little harder" or "get yourself a damned attorney!"
"Hester" deserves A LOT of praise for not only surviving the Medical Ignorance by the Southern Health Partners nurse Sammy Wilson and Jailer Harmon, but he fought hard on this case and was determined to get JUSTICE.
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CONCLUSION:
- Hester's Case was reassigned from Judge Stivers to Judge McKinley on May 9, 2023.
- For whatever reason, mail sent to Hester while incarcerated was returned as undeliverable on May 17, 2023.
- HESTER'S CASE WAS TERMINATED JULY 5, 2023 by Judge Joseph H. McKinley, Jr.
- Once again, mail to Hester was declared undeliverable on July 18,2023.
Harold Justin Hester never received justice for the Medical Neglect and ignorance regarding the Medical Grievances he filed.
Did Hester just finally give up on the "JUSTICE" system? . . . I wouldn't blame him if he did.
The good news is he will be released in about one year, and he will have another chance at life outside of bars. He will be able to spend time with his family, smell the fresh air on a long walk, and feel freedom once again.
*** For more information about another court case that Judge Greg Stivers erroneously dismissed, even though the Plaintiff was represented by an attorney . . . click on the following link and see how he makes a habit of ruling in favor of the public authorities regardless of their obvious guilt. Thank you for reading!