Brown County, Texas, Sheriff Glen Smith and Chief Deputy Mike McCoy told County Commissioners on Monday that Brown County Jail is not meeting state standards for tuberculosis testing and could leave itself open to lawsuits unless it complies within two weeks. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards requires jails with more than 100 inmates to test those held for more than seven days for TB. If those standards are not followed, the jail could be decertified. Upon decertification, the county's liability insurance coverage for inmate lawsuits would be revoked, and the county would be responsible for damages if an inmate successfully sued. The state found the jail out of compliance following an annual inspection on Jan. 7. County Judge Ray West called the situation an emergency and noted that the last time the jail was decertified the county was hit with "at least two lawsuits." Smith said the Brown County Health Department could start testing inmates for TB on Tuesday.

Back to other CDC news for January 22, 2003

Previous Updates | Search the CDC archive