State Attorney Files Lawsuit Against Prison Health Service Company After Inmate Deaths

New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recently filed a lawsuit against the prison health service company responsible for providing services to an East Meadow jail for failing to properly perform their services.

According to Schneiderman, Armor Correctional Health Medical Services, based in Florida, is being sued for not giving adequate care to the inmates at Nassau County Correctional Center as required in their $11 million yearly contract with the county.

Since 2011, when Armor began providing services to the jail, a total of 12 inmates, including four since March, have died in custody, according to a press release from Schneiderman's office.

“Failing to provide proper health services as required is completely unacceptable," he said. "Neglecting the duty to provide adequate care not only defrauds taxpayers, it compromises the health and safety of inmates, with sometimes fatal consequences.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the company continued to charge Nassau County for their services in full despite the fact that they "failed to meet several performance standards required under the contract," including:

• Not timely responding to inmates’ request for medical assistance, and at times failing to respond entirely;
• Not providing required reports regarding assessment of care and improvement plans where audits show failures;
• Failing to provide timely and continuous access to prescription medications;
• Failing to provide timely and effective diagnostic services, such as laboratory tests;
• Failing to reliably provide important mental health services, such as treatment plans;
• Failing to provide adequate access to off-site medical specialists; and
• Understaffing key clinical and managerial positions, including leaving some positions vacant for months at a time.

The State Attorney's office is seeking fines and damages in addition to an independent monitor to oversee that they are complying with the contract and banning Armor from bidding for future health service contracts in New York State.

“Prison inmates rely on companies providing health services for a wide range of medical issues, many of which have gone untreated," Schneiderman said. "Those struggling with chronic diseases, mental health and substance abuse problems deserve comprehensive, reliable and high-quality medical care.”