A former inmate at the Santa Barbara County Jail who was incarcerated with a broken leg is suing the county and jail staff for alleged medical neglect.
In a lawsuit filed on Oct. 29, Gaik Sokhikian says his repeated requests to jail staff to see a doctor were ignored and, as a result, he now suffers lasting damage to his leg.
According to booking records, Sokhikian was incarcerated at the jail from Aug. 25 to Sept. 22 in 2014 on suspicion of various charges, including driving under the influence, stalking, and injury to a child. Before he was arrested, Sokhikian broke his left ankle and it was in a cast by the time he entered jail.
While in jail, Sokhikian’s ankle began bleeding and discharging a foul odor and he requested to see a doctor. However, he neither saw a doctor nor was he treated for his condition, the lawsuit states.
After he was released from jail, Sokhikian said the cast was removed and a serious infection was revealed. He was given antibiotics, but the infection still required special treatment as of the date of the allegations, according to the lawsuit.
Sokhikian is suing the county, a registered nurse identified only by the name of M. Cadarelli, and Corizon Health, the Tennessee-based company that holds a contract with the county to provide medical services at the jail.
It’s not the first time Corizon has come under fire from people who say the company gives substandard care in jails.
Several groups, including Families ACT! and People Organized for the Defense of Equal Rights (PODER), spoke out against the company following the death of 52-year-old Raymond Herrera, who died inside the jail on June 15 after suffering from internal bleeding and a ruptured spleen.
The company faces or has faced numerous lawsuits in several other states, including here in California. Despite its existing lawsuits and heavy scrutiny from the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 8, Corizon’s contract with the county was renewed for another 18 months.
When pressed for comment, Corizon officials issued the following statement:
“Corizon Health doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals work hard each and every day in an extremely difficult setting to provide the best possible medical care,” said Martha Harbin, Corizon’s director of external affairs. “Due to patient privacy and pending litigation, we will not comment specifically on this case, but it’s important to emphasize that the existence of a lawsuit is not necessarily indicative of quality of care or any wrongdoing.”
The company defended their practices in a Sun commentary published on July 30.
“Despite the difficult operating environment and the fact that our patients enter our care far sicker than the general public,” Corizon’s Dr. Woodrow Myers wrote, “in many cases our patients’ health care outcomes are significantly better than those of the general public.”
Catherine Swysen, Sokihikian’s attorney, declined to discuss the case.
Sokhikian is suing for negligence and violation of his civil rights.
The lawsuit is scheduled for a case management conference on March 1, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. in Dept. 3 in the Anacapa courthouse.
This article appears in Nov 12-19, 2015.
