Couple sues state jail authority for MRSA

CHARLESTON -- A man and his wife are suing the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority after he contracted MRSA.

During 2010, Jerry Boggess was incarcerated by the defendant, according to a complaint filed March 28 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Boggess claims after he was transferred from Southern Regional Jail to Southwestern Regional Jail in April 2010, he began to experience difficulty walking, fever, disorientation and other flu-like symptoms.

The symptoms worsened and on July 2, 2010, Boggess was transported to the emergency room at Williamson Memorial Hospital where various tests were conducted and it was concluded that he was suffering from MRSA, according to the suit.

Boggess claims during the time he was incarcerated at the defendant's facilities, the facilities were extremely overcrowded and were housing prisoners well in excess of the number for which the facility was designed.

As a result of the overcrowding, more prisoners were assigned to cells than was appropriate and all of the shower, medical and other facilities within the jails were used by more people than they were designed, which caused the jails to be extremely dirty, according to the suit.

Boggess claims the defendant was negligent in its maintenance of the regional jails under its authority and caused him to contract MRSA.

As a result of the defendant's wrongful conduct and negligence, Boggess contracted MRSA for which he received extensive treatment and damages, according to the suit.

Boggess and his wife, Amy Boggess, are seeking compensatory damages. They are being represented by Larry O. Ford.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Louis H. Bloom.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 12-C-537