Filed Date: Feb. 27, 2015
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This class action, brought on behalf of approximately 1,200 prisoners in the custody of the Kentucky Department of Corrections diagnosed with Hepatitis C, and those who might be diagnosed in the future, was filed in Kentucky state court in 2015, and removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on December 7, 2016.
Represented by the civil rights firm Belzley, Bathurst & Bentley, plaintiffs sued the Kentucky Department of Corrections, several individual employees of the Department, and CorrectCare Solutions, Inc., which provides medical services to inmates of the Department. They challenged the Department’s treatment of inmates with Hepatitis C, in particular the practice of triaging direct-acting antiviral treatment based on a priority level categorization of infected inmates. In a claim brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, they asserted that these treatment practices constituted deliberate indifference to serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. They further asserted that such care failed to reasonably accommodate persons with Hepatitis C, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1978. Finally, plaintiffs alleged negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress in violation of state law. They sought declaratory and injunctive relief and punitive damages.
On July 12, 2019, Judge Gregory F. Van Totenhove denied plaintiffs’ motion for a permanent injunction, finding that they had not established that the procedures at issue amounted to grossly inadequate treatment or that the Department of Corrections operated with the requisite culpable state of mind. In the same order, however, the Court granted class certification, defining the class as “all inmates in Kentucky prisons who have been diagnosed, or will be diagnosed, with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) for the purpose of injunctive relief.” 2019 WL 3068447. Ultimately, on February 4, 2020, the Court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment as to the federal claims—holding that the plaintiffs failed to show that the Department’s practice of screening and monitoring inmates with Hepatitis C and prioritizing use of direct-acting antiviral treatment was inadequate or detrimental to their health, or that the defendants had acted with deliberate indifference to substantial risk of harm. The Court closed the federal case, and remanded the action to state court as to the state law claims. 2020 WL 556391.
Plaintiffs appealed, and on July 6, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in a panel of Judges Alice M. Batchelder, Richard A. Griffin, and Jane B. Stranch, affirmed the grant of summary judgment on the federal claims. Agreeing with the District Court, the Sixth Circuit concluded that the plaintiffs failed to show that the Department’s treatment plan put them at substantial risk of serious harm. 2021 WL 2799978.
The status of the case on remand in state court is unknown at this time.
Summary Authors
Tessa Bialek (8/28/2021)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6886768/parties/woodcock-v-correct-care-solutions-llc/
Batchelder, Alice Moore (Ohio)
Griffin, Richard Allen (Michigan)
Stranch, Jane Branstetter (Tennessee)
Van Tatenhove, Gregory Frederick (Kentucky)
Bathurst, Camille (Kentucky)
Belzley, Gregory A. (Kentucky)
Bentley, Aaron Joseph (Kentucky)
Brown, Allison R. (Kentucky)
Dunn, Barry L (Kentucky)
Kaiser, Lainie Crouch (Kentucky)
Batchelder, Alice Moore (Ohio)
Griffin, Richard Allen (Michigan)
Stranch, Jane Branstetter (Tennessee)
Van Tatenhove, Gregory Frederick (Kentucky)
Bathurst, Camille (Kentucky)
Belzley, Gregory A. (Kentucky)
Bentley, Aaron Joseph (Kentucky)
Brown, Allison R. (Kentucky)
Dunn, Barry L (Kentucky)
Kaiser, Lainie Crouch (Kentucky)
Keeton, Linda Marion (Kentucky)
Kinsolving, Megan Handshoe (Kentucky)
Nolan, Brett Robert (Kentucky)
O'Reilly, Megan Pullem (Kentucky)
Payne, Taylor Allen (Kentucky)
Sharp, William E. (Kentucky)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6886768/woodcock-v-correct-care-solutions-llc/
Last updated May 13, 2022
State / Territory: Kentucky
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Feb. 27, 2015
Case Ongoing: Unknown
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Plaintiffs are a class of persons incarcerated by the Kentucky Department of Corrections who are or become infected with Hepatitis C.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: Yes
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Kentucky Department of Corrections, State
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Ex parte Young (federal or state officials)
Constitutional Clause(s):
Availably Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General:
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: