PITTSBURGH – An inmate worker at Fayette County Prison who was injured during a scheduled assignment and said prison officials both hid the extent of his injuries and subjected him to inhumane living conditions during his time of incarceration, has settled his case.
Joseph Evans first filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on May 4 versus Fayette County, Fayette County Prison Board, Wardens Jeffrey N. Myers and John Lenkey, plus Corrections Officers Bruce McCombie and Henry Cumberland, all of Uniontown.
“Plaintiff was an inmate in the Fayette County Prison during multiple months from prior to May 4, 2020 through September of 2020, the exact dates of which are unknown at this time. During plaintiff’s incarceration at the Fayette County Prison, he served as an inmate worker. On May 5, 2020, plaintiff was working on a maintenance project with defendants McCombie and Cumberland,” the suit said.
“While working with defendants McCombie and Cumberland, defendant McCombie attempted to drive a county vehicle up a road between the annex and the main building of the Fayette County Prison despite the fact that the road had been posted as ‘closed.’ When defendant McCombie tried to bypass the road closed sign, he damaged the vehicle by colliding with broken railing. When the plaintiff attempted to remove the broken railing, as he was instructed by defendant McCombie to do, he fell from a retaining wall approximately eight to 10 feet to the ground below, causing injuries including but not limited to lacerations to his nose and eye, damage to his teeth and further injury to plaintiff’s head.”
The suit added that rather than taking Evans to the medical unit to be examined, defendants McCombie and Cumberland took him to the maintenance area of the prison, where he attempted to clean his wounds.
The suit said that defendants McCombie and Cumberland by their actions and words discouraged the plaintiff from seeking treatment in the medical unit, and that Evans did not demand to be seen at the medical unit at that time or further report how his injuries were sustained because to do so would “put his inmate worker status at risk.”
Furthermore, the plaintiff claimed that McCombie later made false statements about the incident to prison officials to hide the injuries that the plaintiff sustained and that the defendants did nothing to remedy inhumane conditions at the prison.
“As a result of defendant Fayette County, Fayette County Prison Board, defendant Myers and defendant Lenkey’s failures to remedy inadequate conditions, the plaintiff was forced to live in deplorable conditions, where he was exposed to pervasive mold and mildew and infestations of rats, cockroaches and insects. He was refused access to basic necessities, like adequate drinking water, fresh and uncontaminated food, properly functioning heat and ventilation, properly functioning toilets, sinks and showers,” the suit said.
“The conditions also included severe overcrowding; inadequate clothing, linens and/or blankets; insufficient yard and recreation; inadequate basic hygiene necessities, including, but not limited to, adequate toilet paper and clean underwear. The prison conditions were inhumane and deprived the plaintiff of his basic human needs.”
Despite having actual knowledge of these conditions and the serious risks they pose, defendant Fayette County, defendant Fayette County Prison Board, defendant Myers and defendant Lenkey were “deliberately indifferent to the inhumane conditions to which the plaintiff was exposed.”
On July 5, the defendants filed an answer to the complaint, along with affirmative defenses.
The defendants countered that the prison was not “overcrowded” during the plaintiff’s incarceration, but, to the contrary, the population was well under the state-approved capacity – and that the prison was not “dilapidated from years of neglect”, but instead, was “well-maintained.”
“Plaintiff’s claims are barred, in whole or in part, by the applicable two-year statute of limitations. Defendants Myers, Lenkey, McCombie and Cumberland are entitled to good faith qualified immunity. Defendants assert all defenses and limitations on damages set forth in the Prison Litigation Reform Act,” the affirmative defenses stated.
“All medical care provided to inmates of the Fayette County Prison at times relevant to the allegations in this lawsuit was provided by PrimeCare Medical, Inc. Plaintiff is not alleging a deficiency in the medical care provided to him by the medical staff. If he is, his claim fails for failure to name an indispensable party. Officers McCombie and Cumberland are correctional, not medical, officials. They do not provide healthcare to inmates. Plaintiff was not denied medical care following the incident on May 5, 2020. Contrary to the allegations in the complaint, plaintiff was examined by PrimeCare Nurse Younkin on the day of the accident, May 5, 2020. Plaintiff was examined by a PrimeCare physician on May 6, 2020 and on May 13, 2020.”
Additionally, the filing stated that any and all applicable affirmative defenses as set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(c) are raised as additional defenses to the causes of actions asserted, and that the defendants reserve the right to plead any additional affirmative defenses as may become evidence through discovery in this matter.
UPDATE
After a successful mediation session which concluded on Jan. 6, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly ordered the case closed on Jan. 11.
“This action has been resolved and the only matter remaining to be completed is the submission of a stipulation for dismissal. It is hereby ordered that the Clerk mark the above-captioned action closed. It is further ordered that the Court expressly retains jurisdiction of this matter to consider any issue arising during the period when such stipulation is being finalized, including but not limited to enforcing any settlement,” Kelly said.
For counts of Eighth Amendment violations through conditions of confinement and cruel and unusual punishment plus municipal liability, the plaintiff is seeking, jointly and severally, a judgment against Fayette County and Fayette County Prison Board, compensatory, economic and non-economic damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 1988, such further legal, equitable and other relief as this Court deems just and proper and a jury trial to each Defendant and as to each count.
The plaintiff was represented by Charity Grimm Krupa in Smithfield.
The defendants were represented by Maria N. Pipak, Marie Milie Jones and Michael R. Lettrich of Jones Passodelis, in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case 2:22-cv-00679
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com