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Former BOP Prisoner Settles Medical Suit for $355,000
The federal government wrote Terry Dean Scearce a check for $355,000 in November, 2000, to settle his claim that he suffered a stroke in 1998 because prison officials did not give him the medicine prescribed to treat his high blood pressure.
Scearce, in his late 50's, was being held at the Federal Correctional Institute in Jefferson County, Colorado, on a marijuana trafficking charge that was later dismissed.
Scearce accused the prison pharmacy of turning him away for several days in a row because they had run out of his medication.
The prison had been providing Scearce's medication after his arrest but ran out on April 1, 1998, according to court documents. Five days later Scearce suffered a stroke and spent ten days in Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, followed by several weeks at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Aurora, Colorado.
Scearce's civil lawsuit against the government was dismissed in July, 2000, after the two sides reached the agreement. Neither side conceded the other was right.
According to court documents, a doctor was ready to testify that Scearce's stroke resulted from the fact that he had not taken his medication for five days. Scearce had sued for $800,000. Authorities would not comment on why the criminal case was dismissed or what prompted the government to settle the civil case for $355,000.
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News .
Scearce, in his late 50's, was being held at the Federal Correctional Institute in Jefferson County, Colorado, on a marijuana trafficking charge that was later dismissed.
Scearce accused the prison pharmacy of turning him away for several days in a row because they had run out of his medication.
The prison had been providing Scearce's medication after his arrest but ran out on April 1, 1998, according to court documents. Five days later Scearce suffered a stroke and spent ten days in Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, followed by several weeks at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Aurora, Colorado.
Scearce's civil lawsuit against the government was dismissed in July, 2000, after the two sides reached the agreement. Neither side conceded the other was right.
According to court documents, a doctor was ready to testify that Scearce's stroke resulted from the fact that he had not taken his medication for five days. Scearce had sued for $800,000. Authorities would not comment on why the criminal case was dismissed or what prompted the government to settle the civil case for $355,000.
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News .
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Related legal case
Scearce v. ____
| Year | 2000 |
|---|---|
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 355000 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |