An updated lawsuit against detention contractor CoreCivic claims inmates were denied prescribed medication, staff ignored scabies outbreak for a full year.
The suit, updated July 21, claims that CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, knew about scabies outbreaks as early as the Summer of 2016, but didn't take action until family members of inmates demanded the Health Department get involved. The class action suit was expanded from nine to 21 pages and another plaintiff, probation officer Maria Schaffner, was added to the complaint.
In it, the assistant warden of the detention facility is accused of ordering guards to put an inmate in solitary confinement. Also, others said they were given Benadryl or Hydrocortisone instead of scabies medication prescribed from an outside doctor.
Inmates said they contacted family members about having bites on their arms and legs.
The lawsuit states that because of the scabies infestation was allowed to spread within the jail, scabies was exposed in the Birch Building, which then spread to court staff.
CoreCivic has received backlash from Metro Council members since the May outbreak. They were calling for the Davidson County Sheriff's Office to take over CoreCivic's contract. Sheriff Hall said writing a full plan for a contract takeover would take a full year.
A spokesman for CoreCivic said they will not comment on the pending litigation. However, they said they have been working with the health department since scabies was discovered in the facility in May.
