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| Ex-Ariz. Inmate Says Poor Care Led to Paralysis |
| By Arizona Daily Star |
| Published: 05/13/2003 |
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A former inmate who says poor medical treatment at the Pima County Jail left him partially paralyzed has taken the first step toward a $2 million lawsuit against the county. An attorney for James A. Mudron, 42, said county officials failed to treat Mudron in a timely manner, despite repeated complaints in his more than three months at the jail. 'The doctors have told James his prognosis is guarded,' James Stuehringer wrote in a notice of claim filed April 18, legally required for a lawsuit. 'He will never again walk. He has a permanent disability to his right arm, permanent damage to his bladder and other neurological complications.' But jail officials questioned if Mudron already suffered from a debilitating condition when he arrived at the facility in June on drug and theft charges and when he returned one month later on a fraud charge. 'This came as a surprise to me,' Corrections Bureau Chief Martha Cramer said. Stuehringer, who did not return a call, said his client told officials of a history of cervical degenerative joint disease and cervical spinal stenosis when he arrived at the jail in July 2002. Officials documented Mudron's red, swollen and ulcerated legs and Mudron told them he'd battled the ailments more than 30 days, Stuehringer wrote, contending a blood test should have been ordered. His client's condition deteriorated over the next few months, he said, and Mudron suffered weight loss and increased pain. On Oct. 26, he was paralyzed, the claim notes. He was taken to University Medical Center, where officials discovered a massive epidural abscess through his vertebrae. He remained hospitalized at UMC, then St. Mary's Hospital until December, when he went to a private treatment center. He left Tucson in late January for the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. |
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