Sentencing/Post Conviction
Lawyer: Hepatitis C Nearing ‘Epic Proportions’ in Calif. Prisons
Posted Jul 9, 2008, 11:58 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A class action lawsuit contends California prison officials delay testing and treatment to inmates infected with the hepatitis C virus.
The complaint says as many as 40 percent of the state’s inmates are infected with hepatitis C, but the state refuses to perform liver biopsies and other medical services until the infection is full-blown, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.).
The lawyer for the plaintiffs is Shawn Khorrami of Los Angeles. He told the publication that hepatitis C "is reaching epic proportions because they are not treating these folks."
A court-appointed receiver is overseeing the prison health-care system as the result of a previous lawsuit claiming deficiencies in prison medical care.
The current receiver, McGeorge School of Law professor J. Clark Kelso, told the Daily Journal through a spokesman that the lawsuit is flawed because it deals with a matter already litigated and already being mitigated.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "Worse than Prison Inmate Medical Care: Detained Immigrants’ Medical Care"
ABAJournal.com: "Law Prof Named Prison Healthcare Czar in Calif."
ABAJournal.com: "Receiver Shakes Up CA Prison System"
Updated at 3:08 p.m. to add related coverage.
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