Jail health provider faces many suits
Before Armor Correctional Health Services was selected to serve the inmates in the Volusia County Branch Jail, local lawmakers were concerned about one thing among many others: lawsuits.
Its predecessor, Corizon Health, had become involved in at least 11 legal disputes related to health care at the jail in the span of nine years before being replaced. But since taking over the contract three years ago, the Miami-based Armor has quickly become entangled in a number of legal matters of its own.
A case remains active in federal court regarding the death of April Brogan, a 28-year-old woman who died from untreated symptoms of drug withdrawal while incarcerated in May 2015.
There have been three other lawsuits filed in the past year, but it’s unclear how successful any of them will be. None of the recent cases were filed by attorneys, a fact that can diminish their chance of success.
The most serious is a wrongful-death claim launched by the widow of James Herr, 71, who was jailed after an armed standoff in Venetian Bay. Officers found Herr unresponsive in his cell before he was taken to Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Joyce Herr, his wife, told the News-Journal she filed the suit herself as a “Hail Mary” before the statute of limitations expired. Herr said she doesn’t think the case in state court will go far. Armor has asked a judge to dismiss it.
Herr said there is still a chance that she could launch a new case in federal court as Brogan’s mother did.
“It’s a matter of justice for me,” Joyce Herr said. “I think justice needs to be done because they made mistakes. It’s worthy of justice being done.”
Another suit, filed by an inmate who claimed he was deprived of medical treatment, was dismissed Dec. 22. One more remains active: Kody Kuhn alleges medical staff failed multiple times to treat an infection properly. Kuhn, 34, is now serving three years in an Ohio prison.
The $9 million contract with Armor was extended for one year in June 2017 with promises to boost health-care services in the jail.
“While we do not comment on current litigation, Armor and its caregivers are committed to our core principle of delivering consistent quality patient care,” Armor spokeswoman Yeleny Suarez said in an email.
County spokeswoman Shelley Szafraniec said officials “monitor the performance of Armor Correctional Health Services, and if we have a concern, we will address it with them.”
Suicide, already the leading cause of death in most U.S. jails, has also been a constant at the Volusia County Branch Jail — so much so that a study was commissioned by the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives. The organization visited the jail and published a report with eight findings and recommendations.
Among the issues addressed were staff training, intake screening and assessment, communication, management and suicide interventions.