Another Wrongful Death Suit

Douglas Poole, A 54-year-old man convicted of DUI was sentenced to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Virginia, which contracts out its medical care to a private, for-profit provider, CMS (Correctional Medical Services). Upon arriving at the facility, Poole informed medical staff that he suffered from diabetes and hypertension, which the staff apparently ignored because he went 4 days without receiving any medications, then only got insulin for his diabetes but nothing to control his hypertension. He wound up getting dizzy, collapsing, and hitting his head on a table - when he was taken to the infirmary, medical staff told him he was "faking blindness." He ended up with a brain hemorrhage and died a few days later. Mr. Poole's family has filed a wrongful death suit against CMS, but this is hardly the first time they've had trouble providing medical services - the company was fined $900,000 in the past for failing to provide adequate care to prisoners. Maybe this will finally convince Virginia lawmakers that contracting out medical services is not a safe or viable option.