For Three Years Inmate with Lymphoma was Treated for Psoriasis

For Three Years Inmate with Lymphoma was Treated for Psoriasis

Ex-inmate, Wayne World, was treated for psoriasis for three years when in fact he had lymphoma.  With the help of his attorneys, DeVaughn Ward and Kenneth Krayeske, he filed a lawsuit and the state is now set to pay $1.3 million in a settlement agreement.  The publicly funded payout in an indication of what legislators have called a pattern of deficient medical care for inmates.

Krayeske and Ward have three other medical-malfeasance lawsuits pending in court.  They are preparing four others, including at least two that involved the way inmates were treated which resulted in deaths.  “The file is getting thick,” said Krayeske.

The Department of Corrections (DOC) has identified 25 cases in total thus far, including eight deaths, in which the department has been sued or expects to be sued over the care provided by UConn Health.  Officials had a consultant review those cases and an expert found they amounted to “medical indifference.”  In their last audit, the examiners found the $100 million-a-year, no-bid contract between UConn Health and the state prisons lacked quality controls, performance benchmarks, and oversight.

The agreement ended earlier this year, and the DOC has taken over since, hiring more than 600 UConn Health doctors, nurses, and technicians.  Commissioner Scott Semple said the medical system needed to be more responsive to inmates’ needs, and he has added a chief operating officer and two additional directors.

World, 39, was incarcerated at McDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield and Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers.  He was serving a 17-year sentence for manslaughter, according to state records.  Because of his medical condition, he was given medical parole and was granted early release.  However, the last time his mother, Carrie, went to visit him, she said he was in dire condition – wrapped head to two in medical gauze.

“I feel that they really didn’t do what I think he deserved for what he went through,” she said.  “But we’re thankful for what has been done, because he’s in a position where he can’t work, and he doesn’t have any finances.  It’s still a blessing.”

In the settlement, the state denied any wrongdoing in the way it treated the inmate, but said “the parties desire to avoid further litigation and controversy and wish to resolve” the case.

World echoed this mother’s statement, saying, “I appreciate what was done for me, but I feel for what I went through that I deserved more than what we settled for.  But I’m thankful for that and the lawyers for doing their job to get me to that point.”

DOC spokesperson Karen Martucci said the department “is committed to the consistent, medically appropriate, and humane treatment of all the offenders under its supervision. As we reshape our healthcare delivery system after transitioning from UConn Health to the Department of Correction, we are focused on creating an enhanced model of services with a strong foundation of quality assurance.”  She added, “One of the key considerations for the state choosing to settle this matter out of court, was in deference to sparing Mr. World and his family, any additional avoidable stress which a drawn-out trial may have caused.”

Sources:

State To Pay Ex-Prisoner $1.3 Million In Medical Malpractice Settlement

State Settles With Former Inmate Apparently Misdiagnosed With Psoriasis When He Had Cancer for $1.3M