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| Female inmates file lawsuit over medical care |
| By The Fresno Bee |
| Published: 12/23/2003 |
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Seven inmates at Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla have sued prison medical staff members, alleging malpractice, negligence and unprofessional conduct. The lawsuits, received this week in Madera County Superior Court, demand the firing of Dr. Augustine Mekkam, the prison's chief physician and surgeon. The inmates also seek more oversight of California's prison employees, especially medical staff. "We need some kind of watchdog board to oversee these doctors so that there doesn't have to be all this litigation," said Michelle Kinser, one of the plaintiffs, in a statement issued by Justice Now, an Oakland-based human rights organization that works with women in prison. Kinser, a San Jose native, began suffering extreme weight loss, tremors and pain in and around her pelvis and bladder nearly two years ago. Though she was diagnosed with a possible bladder mass, Kinser said, Mekkam canceled two referrals to a surgeon and an oncologist. She said Mekkam told her she was suffering from a mental disorder and was imagining symptoms despite a history of multiple carcinomas, or cancerous growths, including bladder cancer that required chemotherapy in 1995. Other defendants named in the lawsuits, which were written by the inmates, include physicians Loraine Goodwin, Ernest Reeves, Jagdev Singh, Sampeth Suryadevara, Kuldip Behniwal, a urologist in private practice, and several nurses. Some of the plaintiffs allege they were denied referrals to specialists and were removed from the prison's chronic care program, though they were clearly ill. The Chowchilla prison, which opened in October 1990, houses more than 3,000 female inmates and employs more than 900 workers. Russ Heimerich, spokesman for California Department of Corrections, said the agency is frequently sued for medical neglect by inmates, but almost always prevails in court. He said all the state's inmates receive the medical care they need. |
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