An Arizona prison is accused of failing to provide basic medical care to an inmate injured in a prison job accident.
Eric Carlson, who is serving time for aggravated DUI, filed a legal claim for $1.5 million this week against the Arizona Department of Corrections and medical provider, Corizon Health Services.
His wrist was crushed in April 19 while he was working at his prison job in a recycling center, according to the claim.
“He went down in pain screaming because he had broken the bones in his hand,” Carlson’s lawyer, Scott Zwillinger, said.
Instead of a trip to the emergency room that day, Carlson was returned to Florence prison complex.
The inmate’s wife, Elfi Blair Carlson, is outraged about the medical treatment he received.
“I saw him on Saturday [April 23] for visitation,” said Blair Carlson. “His hand was swollen like three times the size, bruised and black.”
According to Carlson's legal claim, he was treated with “callous and deliberate indifference.” Prison documents show he didn’t see a medical provider until 6 days after his injury, although he did have x-rays in the prison clinic showing broken bones. The claim also says he received insufficient pain medication and a makeshift splint.
“Instead of getting what anybody would get going to a school nurses office, at the hospital every emergency room, he receives a piece of cardboard,” Zwillinger said.
Zwillinger said the piece of cardboard was fished out of a trash can. He also said the prison clinic had regular medical splints on hand, which Carlson did not receive until he made additional complaints.
“Because it [wrist] was not set properly, because it wasn't taken care of right away like it should've been, the bones in his hands died,” said Zwillinger. “He’s going to be permanently impaired in his right hand, and he's right-handed.”
Corizon told ABC15 it’s a “one of the greatest misconceptions” that the company has anything to gain from withholding care.
“What makes the most clinical and business sense is responding early to prevent injuries or illnesses from escalating into conditions requiring more expensive interventions and potentially generating claims against our company,” A Corizon spokeswoman said in an email. The full statement is at the bottom of this story.
After more complaints, Carlson had surgery to remove three bones last week, more than two months after his original injury.
In a direct response to Carlson's grievances, a DOC official wrote the allegations were unsubstantiated and "all actions taken have been appropriate with your care."
Carlson is due for release in 2017. Before his sentence, he worked in construction and landscaping.
“I don't know what we're going to do,” Blair Carlson said.
“Simply because he went to prison, made mistakes in his life, doesn't mean he's not entitled to have basic medical care,” said Zwillinger.
“There they are not animals, they are human beings,” said Blair Carlson.
Full statement from Corizon:
Although we cannot comment on this specific case due to patient privacy laws and the notice of claim, we can tell you that one of the greatest misconceptions about our company – and indeed our entire industry – is that we profit by withholding care. On the contrary, what makes the most clinical and business sense is responding early to prevent injuries or illnesses from escalating into conditions requiring more expensive interventions and potentially generating claims against our company. Corizon Health doctors and nurses work on a daily basis in one of the most challenging environments to deliver care to Arizona’s 34,000 inmates, many of whom suffer from chronic disease, substance abuse, mental illness, and a lack of preventive care at much higher rates than the general public. Our clinicians interact with a constantly changing patient population hundreds of thousands of time every year ranging from routine physicals to emergency responses and are equipped with the supplies, tools and resources they need to properly do their job. No clinician is compensated based upon financial performance. As with any event that results in a grievance or a bad clinical outcome, doctors and nurses from elsewhere in the company conduct a thorough chart review and inquiry and we take action based on the outcome of that investigation.
