The 27-year-old man has filed a lawsuit against the jail and medical officials after he claims a lack of proper medical treatment led to him having his right leg amputated below the knee. His attorney said that the jail and medical officials didn’t gave her client a handicap-accessible cell, took away his orthopedic shoes, cane, wheelchair, and crutches – forcing him to put weight on the bad foot. The man claims he was routinely denied standard medical care, prescribed medical devices, outside treatment, and other deprivations for a year ultimately requiring him to have a right below the knee amputation.
The 27-year-old man from Pennsylvania, Clayton McCray, is reportedly suing the county, the jail’s medical director and staffers, including former Chief Deputy Warden Laura Williams, according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, the 27-year-old former inmate claims that jail staff held him in inhumane conditions. The lawsuit alleges that the Chief Deputy Warden Williams, who was the chief deputy warden for health care services, was not qualified for that position, having served previously as a drug and alcohol counselor.
McCray’s attorney, Jaclyn Kurin, told WPXI: “They knew that they weren’t providing this care and even worse, they knew the harm it was going to cause to Mr. McCray.”
Kurin says the 27-year-old client was being held until his trial, and he came to the jail with a prior condition.
According to reports, McCray was reportedly shot in the spine in 2011, and as a result, his foot would drag because he had lost feeling in it.
Unfortunately, after a few months, an ulcer formed on his heel. According to the lawsuit, the jail and medical officials didn’t properly treat the wound.
According to attorney Kurin, the jail and medical officials didn’t give her client a handicap-accessible cell, took away his orthopedic shoes, cane, wheelchair, and crutches. They reportedly forced the 27-year-old man to put weight on the bad foot.
According to the lawsuit, a wound care physician from the county’s General Hospital told jail medical staff in June 2020 that McCray’s treatment and antibiotic regiment were inadequate and instructed them to give him a full course of antibiotics.
The jail staff did not do that, instead giving him an antibiotic of only two days instead of the 14 recommended.
McCray was in agony, the complaint said. It was then that a physician’s assistant at the jail noticed McCray’s skin was dark black-green and reeked of a foul odor. She recommended a different course of antibiotics.
A culture taken on July 4, 2020, showed he was septic and had a strep infection. McCray’s leg was amputated at the hospital on Sept. 10, 2020. He was released back to the jail six days later and remained there until October.
During that time, the former inmate did not receive adequate pain management or regular physical therapy. On Sept. 30, 2020, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge and was sentenced to six months of probation.
McCray’s attorney, Jaclyn Kurin, reportedly said: “He was in so much pain that he couldn’t retrieve meals, he couldn’t get recreation. He couldn’t shower.”
McCray is now seeking compensation for his injuries including the permanent loss of his right lower leg, significant pain and distress, severe mental anguish, and compensation for his future medical expenses.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.