EAST ST. LOUIS - A Texas woman claims her brother died while incarcerated with the Illinois Department of Corrections as a result of negligent care in regards to his medical condition.
According to court documents, Amy Hernandez filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Vipin Shah, M.D., Wexford Health Sources Inc., Deanna Seed, Pamela Ward and two unnamed individuals. The lawsuit alleges that Alvarez received inadequate care while an inmate at Lawrence Correctional Center by employees of Wexford, which provided medical care to inmates.
The lawsuit states that on Oct 8, 2019, Alvarez received an upper GI endoscopy at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Ill., and the tests uncovered Grade I esophageal varicies, esophagitis and gastritis. Several months, later, in the early morning hours of June 3, 2020, Alvarez allegedly went to the infirmary at the jail complaining of abdominal pain and coughing up blood.
Alvarez was transported back to Carle Foundation Hospital and was diagnosed with esophageal and gastric ulcers, according to the complaint.
On the night of Aug. 7-8, Alvarez allegedly developed a gastrointestinal hemorrhage, which the suit states is a life threatening condition. In the early morning hours of Aug. 8, court records state that Shah kept the decedent at the prison despite knowing it was ill-equipped to deal with his condition.
The suit states that on the morning of Aug. 9, Shah received Alvarez’s lab results, which allegedly found that he was bleeding internally and in need of medical attention. Shah allegedly rescheduled an appointment for him two days later rather than transporting Alvarez to the hospital.
By 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 9, Alvarez allegedly asked to see a doctor. His request was denied, and he was allegedly told he could see the doctor in the morning. At 9:15 p.m., he was found unresponsive and bleeding in his cell. The suit states that an ambulance was not requested until 9:39 p.m., and by that time his condition allegedly continued to deteriorate. Paramedics arrived at 9:50 p.m. but didn’t leave for another 30 minutes, arriving at the hospital at 10:28 p.m. Alvarez was pronounced dead nine minutes later, according to the complaint.
The plaintiff is seeking $75,000 for each of 18 different counts against the defendants. Hernandez is represented by Chicago-based Loizzi Cárdenas Law LLC.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:22-cv-566