As reported on WHYY, KRMF has initiated a lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Patricia Ann Pollock, who died at the age of 25 while incarcerated for less than five days in 2011 at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. Â The suit claims that Ms. Pollock entered the facility with an illness that was easily recognizable as bacterial endocarditis — a serious, but treatable, infectious condition in the heart and heart valves. Â Over the course of her stay in the facility, no diagnostic testing was provided, nor was Ms. Pollock taken to a hospital for evaluation or treatment.
The suit addresses important questions as to whether private medical contractors in the prison context can provide proper care or whether the contractor’s profit motive prevents medically appropriate decisions.
The suit was filed by KRMF partner Jonathan Feinberg.
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