A former Clark County Jail inmate is suing the sheriff’s office and its medical provider for allegedly failing to provide adequate care while he was incarcerated.
John A. O’Keefe, 46, of Camas filed the complaint July 25 in Clark County Superior Court. He is being represented by Camas attorney Noura S. Yunker.
The suit lists the county, sheriff’s office, Clark County Department of Corrections, Conmed Health Care Management — a Maryland-based company that contracts with the county to provide care to inmates — and Correct Care Solutions, which acquired Conmed in 2012, as defendants.
According to his complaint, O’Keefe was incarcerated at the jail from Jan. 9, 2016, to Jan. 27, 2016. While there, he was required to wear jail-issued clothing, including sandals. O’Keefe contends that the sandals created blisters on the toes of his left foot that later became infected.
He said he sought medical attention from the jail’s medical staff, but no one responded, and the infection continued, the suit states.
About two days later, O’Keefe requested medical attention again. This time, a nurse came and looked at the blisters and cleaned and bandaged them. But the infection persisted, according to the complaint.
O’Keefe requested medical attention for a third time, and again the nurse cleaned and bandaged the blisters. He asked for antibiotic ointment, but medical staff refused, the suit alleges.
By the time O’Keefe was released, his toes were swollen and his left ankle was painful, the suit states.
On Jan. 30, 2016, he was taken to the emergency department at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver. He was admitted to the hospital and treated for cellulitis and sepsis, secondary to cellulitis. O’Keefe remained hospitalized until Feb. 3, 2016, according to the complaint.
The suit alleges that the jail had a duty to provide him with adequate medical care and failed to do so.
O’Keefe is seeking an amount to be proven at trial and attorneys’ fees.
His attorney declined to comment on the litigation.
Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Chris Horne said he had not yet received a copy of the complaint but said “the county would refer it to (its medical provider) for claims, then evaluate the basis for county liability, independently.”
