CHARLESTON – A Mineral County man says substandard medical care he received in jail led to a permanent neurological injury.
Matthew Goss filed his complaint August 15 in Kanawha Circuit Court against PrimeCare Medical of West Virginia, the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation and an unnamed corrections officer who worked at Potomac Highlands Regional Jail in Hampshire County.
PrimeCare provides medical health care services to inmates at DCR facilities. The company and the state have been the subject of several lawsuits related to alleged substandard medical care of inmates.
“Mr. Goss was arrested for driving on a suspended license and, as has been the case far too often, the jail and their third-party medical provider botched his care resulting in a devastating permanent neurological injury,” attorney L. Dante diTrapano told The West Virginia Record. “We look forward litigating this case and recovering all that Mr. Goss lost at the hands of the defendants.”
According to the complaint, Goss was arrested December 8, 2021, for driving on a suspended license. He was incarcerated at PHRJ. During his medical intake, he admitted to using suboxone, Xanax, heroin and alcohol. He was placed in the general population and placed on detox protocol, which requires his vitals being assessed three times a day and a detox check twice a day.
Goss says he began experiencing headaches, slurred speech and unsteadiness a few days after being jailed, and he says he told guards and nursing staff but was ignored. The complaint says cellmates also told staffers of Goss’s issues but also were ignored.
On December 12, 2021, LPN Deena Wolford said she called to check on Goss because he was shaking. She noted he was lying on a mat on the floor, but was not shaking.
“Assisted to wheelchair and brought up to medical for further assessment … patient reports detoxing of ‘krocodile’ and he is unable to keep food down after two hours, reports weakness,” Wolford noted, according to the complaint, adding that Goss was to be housed in intake or medical until cleared by a physician. She said he was scheduled to be seen by a doctor the next day.
But, records do not show a doctor evaluating Goss that next day. The complaint says medical staff also did not take his vitals three times a day as required and did not perform detox checks twice daily as required.
Just after midnight on December 15, 2021, LPN Casey Arnold went when Goss’s cellmate reported he had fallen. She noted he was on the floor in the fetal position, saying he was too weak to make it to the toilet. There is no record of vitals being taken at this time.
An hour later, prison staff called Arnold to tell her Goss had hit his head. Again, there is no record of vitals being taken. He soon was transported to Hampshire Memorial Hospital and later to Winchester Medical Center in Virginia, where he underwent two surgeries and was diagnosed with an acute cerebral edema, obstructive hydrocephalus with impending herniation, acute subdural hematoma with subarachnoid bleed, acute metabolic encephalopathy and acute hypoxic respiratory failure. He also was diagnosed with Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome from hypertension and illicit drug use.
Goss was discharged on December 24, 2021, but he had two more surgeries after that. He says medical bills have exceeded $200,000 and that he continues to suffer headaches, anxiety and partial disability of one arm with loss of use of three fingers.
The complaint notes that Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency for the state’s jail and prisons in 2017, but the Legislature has failed to address the staffing crisis that has resulted in an increase in inmate deaths. Earlier this month, Justice called the Legislature in for a special session to address the issue.
Goss accuses PrimeCare of medical negligence as well negligent training and supervision. He accuses the DCR of negligent training, and he accuses the John Doe corrections officer of negligence and deliberate indifference in violation of state law.
He seeks compensatory damages for pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses, loss earnings capacity. He also seeks punitive damages against PrimeCare and the unnamed corrections officer, pre- and post-judgment interests, attorney fees, court costs, expenses and other relief.
Goss is being represented by diTrapano, Amanda Davis and Charles Bellomy of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston; Jesse Forbes of Forbes Law Offices in Charleston and by Charles M. Johnstone II and Luke H. Rubenstein of Johnstone & Gabhart in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-709