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 Kenneth McGill, 46, alleged in a lawsuit that he sustained “major
permanent disabilities” as a result of delayed medical treatment he
received in 2012 while being held at the Jefferson County jail in
suburban Denver.
Following a 10-day trial in U.S. District Court in Denver, jurors on
Monday found the county’s contract healthcare provider, Correctional
Healthcare Companies Inc, liable for his injuries.
According to the lawsuit, McGill was being held on misdemeanor
alcohol-related driving offenses when he felt dizzy while working in
the jail’s kitchen.
A nurse told McGill he was likely dehydrated and told him to drink
water. But his symptoms worsened and he had difficulty moving the
right side of his body, the complaint said.
 Other inmates told deputies that McGill’s symptoms, including a
droopy mouth and unsteadiness, “were so obvious that even lay
people” recognized he was suffering a stroke, the lawsuit said.
McGill spent the night on the concrete floor of his cell, the
lawsuit said, and when a physician finally diagnosed the stroke the
next morning, it was still several hours before he was transported
to a hospital.
“By the time Mr. McGill was brought to the hospital, it was far too
late to reverse or even stem the damage from the stroke,” the
lawsuit said.
Correctional Healthcare could not immediately be reached for
comment, but the company in court filings denied the allegations.
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McGill failed to cooperate with a nurse who examined him, the
company said, and his injuries may have resulted from a “failure to
follow reasonable medical advice and instructions.”
McGill’s lawyers said the stroke left him unable to work, and that
he continued to suffer “serious emotional and physical harm” from
his injuries, including partial paralysis and difficulty speaking.
More than $8.5 million of the judgment went to punitive damages. The
rest was for medical expenses, future lost earnings and “impairment
of his quality of life,” the verdict form read.
(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Peter
Cooney)
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