Inmate Sues Sonoma Co. Claiming Feet, Lower Leg Amputated Due To Lack Of Medical Care

SONOMA COUNTY, CA – A Santa Rosa transient has filed a negligence and civil rights violation suit against Sonoma County and the City of Santa Rosa alleging he was denied medical care in the county jail, causing the amputation of his feet and a lower leg.

The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in August. It names as a defendant California Forensics Medical Group, which provides care to Sonoma County Jail inmates.

The attorneys for Bryce George Lemmons, 57, allege the defendants were deliberately indifferent to Lemmons' need for medical care, maliciously deprived him of care, arrested, detained and imprisoned him against his will and threatened, coerced and intimidated him.

Santa Rosa police arrested Lemmons, who was sleeping behind a Safeway store on 4th Street in Santa Rosa, around 9 p.m. on Dec. 26, according to the complaint.

Sonoma County sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum said Lemmons told the officers he was cold, had urinated in his clothing and had bottles of alcohol around him.

The officers took Lemmons to Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center where he was treated, released and medically cleared to be booked in the Sonoma County Jail around 2:45 a.m. Dec. 27, Crum said.

The Santa Rosa police report said Lemmons had a blood-alcohol level of 0.42 percent when he was taken to the hospital, according to Crum.

Lemmons' attorneys Gregory Brod and Markus Willoughby claim Kaiser Permanente Medical Center's diagnosis on Dec. 27 included hypothermia, and the hospital instructed the defendants about Lemmons' injuries and conditions and gave instructions for his care when he left.

At that time, Lemmons was unable to walk due to extreme pain in both feet, and he was in wet clothing and in a wheelchair, according to the suit.

Lemmons was placed in a cold cell for several hours before he was given dry clothing, and he complained he felt frozen and was in severe pain in both feet and legs, according to the complaint.

Jail staff said no medical services were provided on Sundays and he would be placed on a list to see a doctor on Monday, according to the complaint. Lemmons, however did not receive care on Monday, according to the complaint.

Lemmons appeared in Sonoma County Superior Court on Dec. 29. Court records show he pleaded no contest and was convicted of misdemeanor petty theft that he committed on Aug. 25.

Judge Dana Simonds suspended an 18-month term in the county jail and sentenced Lemmons to a 30-day term. Simonds ordered Lemmons to stay away from the Safeway store on Fourth Street, and after Lemmons complained he was not receiving medical care in jail, she ordered that Lemmons be seen by medical staff, according to court records.

Lemmons was taken from the jail around 4:30 p.m. Dec. 29 and admitted to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. The complaint alleges by then both of Lemmons' feet were dark purple with black toes after being denied medical care for nearly 70 hours.

Due to his injuries, both of Lemmons' feet and his lower right leg were amputated, and he required medical treatment at the hospital for several weeks, according to the complaint.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is researching its records of Lemmons' care to determine who is responsible for the loss of his feet and lower leg, Sgt. Crum said. The jail has medical care available 24 hours,
seven days a week, Crum said.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, an award three times the amount of the actual damages, plus costs, expenses, attorneys fees and a jury trial.

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