Maine: Sheriff Probes Jail Medical Care

On Friday, Charles Wynott of Westbrook filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Portland alleging he was deprived of his HIV medications while an inmate in the Cumberland County Jail. In the civil rights suit, whose defendant is not the county but rather jail health care provider Correctional Medical Services (CMS), Wynott said the delay may have allowed his HIV to become drug-resistant.

Sheriff Mark Dion has now launched an investigation into the matter. While acknowledging "there was a lag time in assessing his particular need," Dion said Wynott "did get the drugs. He seems to be asserting there's a permanent disability to that interruption."

Dion said there would have been no financial motive for CMS not to provide the drugs, since their cost would have been billed to the county. He said the jail has limited stocks of pharmaceuticals, especially expensive drugs like those used to treat HIV, due to cost and storage considerations. Other drugs are ordered as needed. Jail rules prohibit inmates from bringing in their own medications.

Wynott was jailed in August and November, and at each intake information on his health needs would have been added to his case history. Dion said in one of those incarcerations it appears the drugs were ordered but not administered, perhaps because Wynott had already been released.

Jailed again on Jan. 29, Wynott claims he was deprived of his HIV medications between then and his release on Feb. 5. Dion disputes this, saying records show Wynott did receive his medicine before Feb. 5.

The county hired CMS in 2001 and last year paid it more than $3 million. A CMS spokesperson declined to comment on the case.

Back to other news for February 2008