OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) - Health care providers at an Oklahoma jail are accused of ignoring a man's serious medical problems that included refusing to eat for three weeks.
A lawsuit was filed Feb. 1 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma against Custer County Sheriff and several other defendants. The plaintiffs, Lisa M. Hice and LeAnn D. Hoff, are co-administrators of the estate of Marvin G. May, who is now deceased.
The plaintiffs allege that the defendants were responsible for providing medical services, supervision, and medication to May while he was in custody at the Custer County Jail. They claim that the defendants failed to meet May's medical and mental health needs during his time in custody.
May was 74 years old and 275 pounds and suffered from diabetes, Alzheimer's and COPD. The suit says he refused to shower and did not eat the first week he was in jail, showing signs of a worsening mental health/neurological condition.
The suit claims health care staff at the jail failed to help May and would not transfer him to a hospital. In February 2022, while refusing meals, he was gasping for air but he was never seen by a doctor.
His condition worsened while refusing meals for three weeks. On March 18, 2022, he fell out of his bunk into his own feces while covered in bed sores, the suit says.
Finally, the suit says, he was transported to a hospital where he was diagnosed with cardiorespiratory arrest and acute renal failure. He had lost about 50 pounds during his incarceration, and the probable cause of his death that day was listed as COVID and pneumonia.
The defendants include Turn Key Health Clinics, LLC, Tamara Carey (APRN), Stacia Unruh (LPN), Custer County Sheriff in his official capacity, and Julie Warnke.
Daniel Smolen and other lawyers at Smolen & Roytman are representing the plaintiff.