Last week, Benton County agreed to a $1 million settlement with the estate of Faith Denise Whitcomb, and to changing its policies, in one of, if not the largest civil rights payouts in the state of Arkansas. Ms. Whitcomb was in her early 50s when she was arrested and detained at Benton County Jail. Her complaint alleged that while at the jail, she began experiencing severe pain and was visibly ill. She couldn’t keep down food and lost nearly 50 pounds within a short period. Denise tried to get medical care by filing grievances and medical requests. The complaint alleged that the medical staff and correctional officers at the Jail ignored her cries for help and never tried to diagnose the pain. The complaint alleged that they only offered her over-the-counter medication, even though she repeatedly complained that those medicines were not enough to help her. She died 10 months later in her cell.
Throughout this ordeal, Denise was forced to live in isolation, which meant that she was confined to her cell for 23 hours a day. An intake officer believed that she was HIV-positive, and it was the jail’s policy to segregate people with “communicable diseases.” Her complaint alleged not only that it is needless to isolate people on the basis of their HIV status, but also that Denise did not have such disease. The unnecessary 23-hour per day segregation was particularly difficult for her because of her mental health disorders.
In addition to the $1 million settlement, Loevy & Loevy was able to negotiate a change in the Jail’s policy. The sheriff of Benton County has agreed to stop isolating or segregating inmates on the basis of their HIV status. We are proud to have gotten justice for Denise and her family, and to have contributed to policy changes at the Jail that will guard against other inmates suffering the same tragic fate that Denise suffered.
If you or some you know is a victim of unconstitutional conditions of confinement, including denial of medical care, and would like to make a claim, we encourage you to call 312-243-5900, toll-free 888-644-6459 or contact us online today for a free consultation. It is important to involve an attorney early in the process to achieve the greatest result. Learn more about our civil rights practice here.
I have lived in Arkansas my entire life. I have a brain tumor that sometimes causes psuedoseizures. This is not only medically documented, but I also wear a medical bracelet stating this and carry medication with me at all times for it. I have been incarcerated in Benton County a couple times for minor misdemeanor offenses. Every time I have been incarcerated in Benton Co. jail I have not only failed to receive proper medical care, but also witnessed it as well. Last time I was there I felt a seizure coming on. Not only had I provided my medication to the jail, I also informed the arresting officer of the condition as well. I also notified several of the jailers that I needed my medication ASAP and was going to have a seizure. The jail nurse was present and had my medication in hand when my seizure took place. The jailers are obviously not properly trained to handle basic emergency medical needs what so ever. My medication was denied and I was relocated while seizing to a isolation room and laid on the concrete floor on my back and left unattended for the duration of the seizure. This is in no way, shape, or form proper handling or procedure for medical treatment of a person experiencing a seizure. I could have cracked my head open, asphyxiated, or even died due to the neglect and lack of treatment I received. If the staff cannot properly handle even the most basic procedures to ensure proper medical care and safety of inmates then they should provide acceptable medical staff, but not even the jail nurse that was present handled the situation acceptably. I am not sure if it is due to lack of knowledge and training or if it just blatant neglect. Either way this experience is completely unjust and an obvious violation of the basic rights clearly posted in all jails. I am only sharing this experience in hopes that jailers be required not just offered proper medical training to ensure the proper safety of our citizens while incarcerated. This is a serious violation of civil rights that are supposed to be provided to all inmates. I attempted to research similar cases reported in our area and was unable to find actually statistics for this injustice. Almost every report I found only offered excuses for the resulting deaths due to improper medical treatment. Just as any doctor or regular citizen is held responsible for this neglect and processed accordingly to the law, so should our justice system.