HUNTINGTON – A federal judge has certified a class in a federal lawsuit accusing a prison health care provider of routinely denying thousands of people medication to treat Opioid Use Disorder.
In a July 24 memorandum order and opinion, U.S. District Judge Robert C. “Chuck” Chambers approved revised class definitions in the case filed in 2023 by against Wexford Health Sources Inc. by three named plaintiffs – Lauren Spurlock, Heather Smith and Shawn Zmudzinski – who claim Wexford “intentionally subjects patients entrusted to its care to significant pain and suffering and an elevated risk of drug relapse and overdose death.”
diTrapano
“This class certification order is the first step in a long process of providing redress for inmates that were denied treatment that Wexford was contractually obligated to provide,” attorney L. Dante diTrapano told The West Virginia Record. “Judge Chambers certified a Damage Class and an Injunctive Relief Class that reaches over 100 penal institutions across the country. “
Forbes
Fellow attorney Jesse Forbes agreed.
“We are extremely pleased with the well determined ruling from the court and look forward to representing the class moving forward,” he told The Record. “Substance use disorder affects so many across this country and there should never be one set of medical care for those who are detained and another for those out of custody. Society needs to know that when someone is sent to jail their constitutional rights aren’t checked at the door. Otherwise, everyone loses confidence in the system.
“These are people who can’t just walk out to see the doctor, they are reliant on medical providers for every aspect of care and the providers take millions in contracts to provide that crucial care. When there are policies that run directly against recognized standards of care it puts people in danger and the allegations here are that it places profits over proper care.”
In his Thursday ruling, Chambers revised the class certifications to solve “the ascertainability problems of plaintiffs’ proposed class definitions.”
For example, the original class definition included those “who were diagnosed with OUD, tested positive for opioids, or were monitored for opioid withdrawal using the Clinical Opioid Withdrawal Scale (COWS) prior to or during such confinement, who were not screened for OUD or offered MOUD, and who were thereafter released from the Listed Facility.”
Wexford argued that definition could include individuals who did not have OUD but tested positive for opioids at some point years prior to incarceration. Additionally, the original class definition could require a review of “lifelong medical records (and whatever other records may reveal a positive opioid test).” Chambers said that process would require extensive and individualized fact-finding.
“Under the new class definitions, there is no need to review lifelong medical records,” Chambers wrote. “Class members can be identified using Wexford’s own records. No individualized determinations are necessary. For some class membership criteria, Wexford providers make the relevant individualized determinations in the ordinary course of business: Wexford providers administer drug tests upon intake, verify prescription medications, note diagnoses, and in some cases diagnose serious medical conditions such as OUD.”
The complaint says OUD is a chronic brain disease that “rewires the brain,” resulting in uncontrollable cravings for and use of opioids. Without treatment, it says individuals are frequently unable to control their use of opioids, resulting in overdose and death. It says methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone are the only treatments proven to reduce opioid addition and symptoms of OUD.
“Jails and prisons are the epicenter of the opioid epidemic,” the complaint states. “Studies show that up to 65% of incarcerated people have a substance abuse disorder and up to 25% of these inmates suffer from OUD. One study found that incarcerated people are 129 times more likely to die from an overdose in the first two weeks after release compared to the general population.”
The complaint says Wexford serves as a medical contractor for more than 100 jails and prisons across the country, including West Virginia. It says Wexford has no medical justification to deny medications for OUD (or MOUD), but it says Wexford does so purely for profit.
“But this decision saves Wexford millions of dollars in medical expenses each year,” the complaint states. “For every 10,000 patients who need MOUD, for example, the company’s policy of denying them methadone and buprenorphine saves Wexford approximately $62.4 million per year.”
The 44-page complaint also details the stories of the three name plaintiffs.
Spurlock is a Huntington resident. She was jailed in early 2023 for possession of opioids and was released May 11, 2023. She told Wexford personnel at Western Regional Jail of her addiction and her need for treatment, but she says Wexford failed to provide proper care and MOUD. She says she experienced “terrible withdrawal” including pain, difficulty sleeping, nausea and other physical discomfort.
Smith was jailed at South Central Regional Jail in Charleston in January 2023. She showed Wexford staffers her MOUD prescription, but she still was denied the medication. She says she suffered terrible withdrawal as well, including pain, jerking in her legs so severe she was unable to sleep, sweating, nausea and cravings for drugs.
Zmudzinski became addicted to opioids growing up in New Mexico. When he was jailed in his home state, he says Wexford officials denied his access to his MOUD. He says he experienced excruciating pain, diarrhea, constipation, chills, cold sweats and the inability to eat or sleep. He feared suffering a fourth heart attack, and he says his cravings returned.
The plaintiffs accuse Wexford of negligence and of violating the Eighth Amendment and 14th Amendment with deliberate indifference to their medical needs. In addition to have the class certified, the plaintiffs seek compensatory damages for pain and suffering, punitive damages, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by diTrapano of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston and by Forbes of Forbes Law Offices in Charleston as well as by Anna C. Haac, Lauren A. Kuhlik and Gemma Seidita of Tycko & Zavareei in Washington, D.C.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 3:23-cv-00476
