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| CSC Wrongful Death Suit Moves Forward |
| By Fort Worth Star Telegram |
| Published: 07/30/2003 |
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Attorneys blamed a nurse's skepticism and poor staffing by a Florida-based private company that ran a Mansfield, Texas, boot camp for the death of an inmate who had been serving a drunken-driving sentence at the facility. The attorneys, who represent the parents of Bryan Alexander, made the accusations Thursday during opening statements of a wrongful death trial. Alexander, 18, of Arlington died Jan. 9, 2001, two days after being transferred to a Fort Worth hospital. He had a form of pneumonia that was resistant to penicillin. Plaintiffs' attorneys contend the camp's nurse and Correctional Services Corp., which contracted to run the camp for the county's judges and probation department, failed to provide Alexander with timely and adequate medical care. The plaintiffs' attorneys contend Bryan Alexander tried to get medical attention as early as Dec. 31 but was not seen until Jan. 5. Alexander had been given over-the-counter medication to treat a cold or flu. Alexander's parents are suing CSC and the camp's former nurse, Knyvett Reyes, who was hired by the company. Reyes was convicted of negligent homicide last year in Alexander's death. Attorneys on both sides are awaiting clarification from the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth on whether that conviction is final or under appeal. Vic Anderson, an attorney for CSC, said Reyes acted appropriately in treating what she believed was the flu or strep throat and could not have known the severity of Alexander's illness. 'We do not deny the fact that Mr. Alexander was ill and began feeling bad sometime in late December or early January,' Anderson said in opening statements. 'But a lot of people at the facility were feeling bad,' he said. 'There was an outbreak of flu. It was not an unusual thing for someone at the camp to say they are sick to get out of work or to get a trip to the hospital.' Alexander died two days after being taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth on Jan. 7, 2001. Texas Rangers Sgt. Alvin Alexis testified that the boot camp had a policy of requiring probationers at the 370-bed Mansfield facility to take over-the-counter drugs for three days before they could request a visit to the camp's nurse. Alexis said Alexander complained of coughing up blood but had to take cold and flu pills for three days and then tried for another three days to visit the camp's nurse. Alexis based his conclusions on CSC records and interviews with CSC employees and boot camp inmates. The civil lawsuit, which initially sought more than $700 million in damages, is expected to last more than a month, court officials said. Attorneys for Alexander's parents are not disclosing how much in damages they'll seek at the conclusion of the trial. |
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