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| Lawsuit: Families Got Infection Officers Carried from Jail |
| By Allentown Morning Call |
| Published: 09/29/2003 |
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Two Bucks County (Penn.) Prison officers have filed federal lawsuits against the county, claiming family members are suffering from staph infections stemming from unsanitary conditions at the jail and the failure of corrections officials to tell them they were carrying the disease. Patrick Kelly Jr. and John Kaucher said family members have contracted methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA. The officers are represented by attorneys Anita F. Alberts and Martha Sperling, who filed a class-action suit against the county in the fall on behalf of 10 current and former inmates who claim they contracted MRSA at the jail because of unsanitary conditions. MRSA is an infection resistant to treatment with methicillin, an antibiotic used commonly to arrest staph infections. MRSA can lead to skin ailments, such as boils or lesions, or more serious blood infections. It can also cause pneumonia. Alberts said Kelly and Kaucher could not be included in the inmates' suit because, as officers, they don't belong to the same class of plaintiffs. The class-action suit seeks improvements at the prison and more than $4 million in damages. Kelly and Kaucher each seek damages totaling $300,000, according to their suits, filed February 27 in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. E. Ronald Watson, director of communications for the county, said officials would have no comment. In the summer, Bucks officials at first denied that anyone had contracted MRSA in the jail, but on Aug. 22 disclosed that one inmate had the infection. That number soon grew to as many as 10 inmates. In the meantime, a federal magistrate ordered MRSA tests for nearly 1,200 inmates and Corrections Department staff members. A state epidemiologist concluded that at least 20 inmates were infected with MRSA. Since summer, corrections officials have taken steps to improve sanitary conditions. Washcloths are no longer issued to inmates. Small one-time-use bars of antibacterial soap are now given to inmates for showers. Inmates who have developed MRSA symptoms are last to use the showers, and after showering, the bath facilities are disinfected. Also, the laundry of MRSA-carrying inmates is washed separately from other prisoners' laundry. (3/3/03) |
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