Chowchilla inmates sue over medical abuses

Chowchilla inmates sue over medical service
Seven say they didn't get adequate care.
By Lisa Aleman-Padilla
The Fresno Bee
December 19, 2003

Seven inmates at Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla
have sued
prison medical staff members, alleging malpractice, negligence and
unprofessional conduct.The lawsuits, received this week in Madera County
Superior Court, demand the firing of Dr. Augustine Mekkam, the prison's
chief physician and surgeon. The inmates also seek more oversight of
California's prison employees, especially medical staff.

"We need some kind of watchdog board to oversee these doctors so that
there
doesn't have to be all this litigation," said Michelle Kinser, one of the
plaintiffs, in a statement issued by Justice Now, an Oakland-based human
rights organization that works with women in prison.

Kinser, a San Jose native, began suffering extreme weight loss,
tremors and
pain in and around her pelvis and bladder nearly two years ago. Though
she
was diagnosed with a possible bladder mass, Kinser said, Mekkam
canceled two
referrals to a surgeon and an oncologist.

She said Mekkam told her she was suffering from a mental disorder and was
imagining symptoms despite a history of multiple carcinomas, or cancerous
growths, including bladder cancer that required chemotherapy in 1995.

Mekkam did not return The Bee's phone calls.

Other defendants named in the lawsuits, which were written by the
inmates,
include physicians Loraine Goodwin, Ernest Reeves, Jagdev Singh, Sampeth
Suryadevara, Kuldip Behniwal, a urologist in private practice, and
several
nurses.

Some of the plaintiffs allege they were denied referrals to
specialists and
were removed from the prison's chronic care program, though they were
clearly ill. "These cases make a powerful statement, exposing medical
neglect that is tantamount to torture," said Cynthia Chandler,
co-director
of Justice Now. "Taxpayers need to know how their money is being misused."

The Chowchilla prison, which opened in October 1990, houses more than
3,000
female inmates and employs more than 900 workers. Russ Heimerich,
spokesman
for California Department of Corrections, said the agency is
frequently sued
for medical neglect by inmates, but almost always prevails in court.

He said all the state's inmates receive the medical care they need.
"We are
both morally and legally obligated to provide necessary medical care to
inmates, and we do so."

Alice do Valle, spokeswoman for Justice Now, said the lawsuits are not
the
first legal remedy the women sought.

Several of the plaintiffs had filed earlier complaints with the
California
Medical Board, but were told that prison doctors do not fall within the
board's jurisdiction, she said.

"What I want to know is whose jurisdiction these doctors fall under
and who
is supposed to be overseeing their practice," said Loraine Stallings,
another plaintiff, in the Justice Now statement.

Stallings, who was diagnosed with a tumor in her left ear, is suing
prison
doctors for attributing her symptoms of constant ear pain, infections,
headaches and hearing loss to excessive wax buildup. She said she now
faces
surgery that doctors say will cause facial drooping, complete loss of
hearing in her left ear and damage to the taste buds on the left side
of her
mouth.

The five remaining lawsuits alleging similar complaints were filed by
inmates Eleanor Guiterrez, Michelle Joe, Wilma Kilpatrick, Cynthia
Escobar
and Bonnie Stum.


The reporter can be reached at lapadilla [at] fresnobee.com or 675-6805.