MRSA Notes

26 responses so far ↓

• Rian // Jun 19, 2006 at 8:47 am

  Kent R. Collins, Jerry C. Cora, Thomas J. Duffy, Agostino J. Fare and Beth Lindsay alleged in their lawsuit that the jail’s administration failed to warn them of “possible exposure” to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

  The stated reasons for the lawsuit seem a bit frivolous. Were not warned? Poor cover for an ill-concealed attempt at a money grab. Suing for getting a staph infection while on the job, on the other hand, does not seem frivolous, particularly when one is an employee at a prison.

• Christina // Jun 24, 2006 at 12:52 pm

  I definitely agree there. They will have to have a much stronger case than what is listed here to be successful, that is for sure. Thanks for the comment!

• State Corrections Officer // Jul 5, 2006 at 8:55 pm

  I have been infected with the MRSA infection and I appeal to all of the other concerned staff and health-care employees to write your poltical parties and voice your concerns about the lack of information distributed by the institutions and unwillingness to allow and/or approve sick leave benefits.

• Cindi Goreham // Jul 19, 2006 at 3:52 am

  My mother passed Jan 26,2006 with this disease. She was incarcerated before she passed and had sores on her face and arms. She began getting them while she was incarcerated and when she went to medical nobody could tell her anything and she continued to get sicker and sicker. My mother had her faults but she didn’t deserve to die. If anyone can give me any information on inmate lawsuits I would appreciate it.

• K Schacht // Jul 28, 2006 at 8:28 pm

  Until recently I was employed as an part-time instructor in two of our local jails. I had been working just a few months when suddenly I began to not feel well, and then the symptons developed… which were misdiagnoised for several months. Finally, I was correctly diagnoised with MRSA, but six months later I’m still ill and the antibiotics are not working.
  Yes, I’m mad and yes I do feel the jails have a culpability of informing and educating not only outside and inside staff, but the inmates as well.
  I had no idea of this risk and was not informed at each jail orientations. The choice of exposure was not an option and the lack of information has prolonged and perhaps worsened my health.

• Christina // Jul 30, 2006 at 10:54 pm

  Thank you all for your comments, I do hope you all find the help that you need, I am afraid that our legal system is going to be the only way that these jails and hospitals are going to become motivated to do what they need to do to clean up.

• MRSA Notes » Two more people join MRSA lawsuit in NJ // Jul 30, 2006 at 11:01 pm

  [...] Two more people have joined the MRSA lawsuit against a New Jersey prision: In separate lawsuits made public on Thursday, Philadelphia resident Robert Motley and Victor DelPiano of Atlantic County, said they began exhibiting signs of staph infection shortly after being locked up on unspecified charges. [...]

• MRSA infections in prisons on the rise :: OnThePharm // Jul 31, 2006 at 8:17 am

  [...] MRSA is turning into a real problem in prisons. Not only for prisoners, but for guards as well. I’ve been watching this blog for a while, and following the comments therein. There’s some scary stuff going on: K Schacht Says: [...]

• MRSA Notes » Lake County, Indiana Jail in Quarantine // Aug 13, 2006 at 11:59 pm

  [...] You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your ownsite. [...]

• carol g // Sep 4, 2006 at 7:45 pm

  I am attempting to sue the Bexar County jail in San Antonio where I contracted MRSA. I received very poor medical care & underwent surgery after finally being taken to an emergency room. Anyone had luck suing the county?

• agostino fare // Oct 27, 2006 at 6:32 pm

  i am one of the officers named in the lawsuit in this article. to respond to rian, if you only knew what kind of stress we as officers have to go through day in and day out in a jail environment. please try to walk a day in any of these fine officers shoes. i bet you couldnt do it. back to the subject. for you as a person to say we are just trying to collect easy money, is a disgrace. me personally, am not worried about money. i just want people to know what we go through here. how do you explain to your little girl that daddy cant hug or kiss her when he walks through the door in the morning because of the fear of passing it on to her. it is a horrible feeling. at the time, i had no idea of what was the main cause of the infection. just to see the look on my little girls face because daddy couldnt hug her, it tears me up inside. so before you go accusing anyone of us officers of easy money grabbing, get your facts right. thank you.

• MRSA Notes » Looking Back at MRSA in 2006 // Jan 11, 2007 at 9:22 am

  [...] June 2006 - E. Pierce Marshall, 67 yr old stepson of Anna Nicole Smith, dies from MRSA septic shock. Also, employees of a New Jersey jail bring one of the first MRSA lawsuits. [...]

• B Lindsay // Apr 28, 2007 at 5:15 pm

  MRSA is not just a staph infection and there is more than just one officer. This infection totally alters your life from the minute you wake up to the time that you go to sleep. You have to maintain washing all bed linin every other day with bleach so that means buying linins and comforters that are white so that they maybe bleached . Sticking a q-tip up your nose twice a day with batrim ointment. washing with hipacleans an expensive body wash, putting on a medicated lotion because the body wash is so harshand makes you itch. Keep your nails short, spray bleach in the shower everytime you shower(twice a day) in the hospital 6 times on antibiotics for 3 years with barely abreak. 4 pick lines( IV antibiotics in the hospital and at home administering it your self, allergies to may antibiotics your weren’t allergic to before. Becoming resistant to almost all antibiotics, now blood clots from so many pick lines, two shots a day of blood thinners to the stomach because of the blood clots, after 7 months of shot and aprin aday for the blood clots, many scars from the abscess, and fear of another infection, being an out cast to your own cowokers, having ignorant people judge you, being put out of work and no one caring having no support system, going to counciling to try to adjust and deal with this type of life style, knowing your afraid to go to work and breaking out again and again because the is no isolation for the ones that have it. Being forced back against the Dr. advise. Not geting paid causing a hardship, tring to explain to your children that you may infect them if you forget to do one of the steps that of this horrible life style. knowing that you frighten other, feeling lonely, taking other medicine because of secondary problems, knowing for life that any surgeries or illnesses maybe deadly to you when you are at this stage. Dr visit after Dr visit. Getting depressed on a daily basis. your supposed to be around young children or elderly people due to they are very suseptable. Feeling ashamed,and hopeless. Who knows what long term side affects all the antibiotics have on your body besides chronic diarrea and yeast infections. How would you like to walk in those shoes? Money can’t buy what I had before this, and you can’t spend money where this illness takes you….

• L // Oct 25, 2007 at 10:02 pm

  I contracted MRSA at work, a prison. I have contacted a lawyer, but wanted a second opinion. Keep in mind the prison admitted to the exposure. Oh and by the way, this stuff almost killed me and potentially will so yeah, I want compensation. To the guy with the money comment: keep in mind the rate that this stuff is spreading. Maybe you will want compensated WHEN you get it. Now go check how many people in Europe are infected. They probably had people like you in charge of their CDC, thus its spreading like the plague.P.S. do you have MRSA or are you trolling websites out of being a troll?

• BARBARA // Nov 14, 2007 at 11:12 am

  HI,
  I am a nurse that was infected many years ago. Before I knew what it was I had many break out and my husband caught it. They are very painfull and they are VERY COINTAGIOUSE. I have also be compleatly healed from it, it is possible but costly. I had 1 month of 2 ABT (bactrum and doxy), I placed bactraban around the nose and use Hipacleans for 2 months. It does work. IF you are still having break out tell your Dr about this. I treated myself and my husband becouse he cought it from me. I have been clear for 2 years.

• Jane // Dec 22, 2007 at 8:25 am

  It is my sincere prayer that all of the officers named in the NJ suit receive the compensation they deserve for the suffering and pain they endured. I concur with Agostino’s comment that it is a tough job to walk in their shoes for a day. What amount of money can cover an illness that greatly impacts your life and could possibly lead to death in unchecked and untreated? Honesty is an important virtue in life, and those impacted whether officers or inmates should have been notified of such a situation. Once again, I pray that the officers involved know that there are people out there who support them , are praying for their safety, and respect the job they have of caring for those who are in the prison system.

• TL // Mar 6, 2008 at 9:51 pm

  I am one of the inmates who contracted MRSA in the Indiana jail last year. It was very painful and noone seemed to care.They allowed me to suffer. Does anyone have a attorney I can call to help me with my lawsuit.

• laura // Apr 2, 2008 at 10:54 pm

  what about the inmates!!! i was locked in with a girl that had mrsa and then when she left they didnt clean the cell! they never clean the cells!!!!!!!

  i am not a criminal. its a long story but i am a very good person and an upstanding citizen.

• laura // Apr 2, 2008 at 10:55 pm

  who cares! they’re only criminals right?

• laura // Apr 2, 2008 at 10:58 pm

  I was one of the most polite and respctful inmates when i was in jail for 8 months. I actually made friends with alot of the officers. I should have not been in jail. I was told that if I did what i did in a different county or in europe, i would have never been charged criminally. I was OVER charged. I was incarceriated due to a suicide attempt!

• Frank // Jul 14, 2008 at 11:01 pm

  I am a counselor in Jail and I was infected with MRSA last year. I thought I had a really bad spider bight. One day at work I showed an inmate my “spider bite” and he said “Hey! I’ve got one of those too!” and he showed me his “bite”. Next thing you know three other guys are showing me their “bites”. That’s when I knew something was wrong so I went to the doctor and after my tests came back I heard of MRSA for the first time. The fact that my administration had not alerted any staff about an MRSA outbreak was extremely disturbing. Right now I am having my second outbreak. I keep it to myself because I am already looked at like a leper. I am scared to be close to my kids. I am scared to have sex with my wife. I am scared.

• KSchacht // Jul 19, 2008 at 1:10 am

  What I find of interest is that no one has made the connection of the “new”rampant spread of MRSA into the general population - i.e. the schools…
  Could it be possible that the inmates who are serving their one day in jail for their DUI’s may be responsible for the recent emergence of the infection into the general public?
  I know that even after my MRSA exposure in the jail, the new inmates were not warned of the disease or the precautions - and how do I know? I asked them.
  In fact, when I notified Washington State Health Dept that Renton Technical College was still not providing their employees with Infectious Disease Training as mandated by the WAC - guess what actions were taken against the school? None.
  This disease will not be taken seriously until a costly lawsuit is won.
  Has anyone had any luck?
  How about the name of a good personal injury lawyer in Wash. State, with prior experience in such cases?
  K

• Roxanne Cuevas // Aug 26, 2008 at 8:31 am

  To Carol G,

  I live in San Antonio. I can tell you that the health dept. here is NOT educating ANYONE in this city, regarding the threat of MRSA. I know, because I did an open records request. I requested Metro Health tell me what, if any, education has been done in this community regarding MRSA. I was ignored, until I threatened to go to the media. That was when a city attorney stepped in and did some damage control. I got the results of the open records request. The only thing Metro Health, and Dr. Fernando Guerra, has done is give a few lectures to his colleagues, and help pass a law to make MRSA a reportable disease. He spoke with a few superintendents of schools here. Other than than, there is NOTHING. They didn’t write letters or meet with day care centers, nursing homes, organizations that help HIV/AIDS patients, organiztions or clinics that help Cancer patients, and yes, the JAIL. Guerra did NOT even notify correctional institutions, on the threat of MRSA. I notified the mayor and the city manager’s office about all this, and received no reply. I can tell you that not too many people in San Antonio have even heard of MRSA, although the cases are rising, and there have been several deaths.

  Good luck to you, if you decide to sue the country jail. I have absolutely NO respect for Dr. Guerra or the health dept. in this city. I think Metro Health, and Santa Rosa Hospital is sweeping MRSA under the rug. The city manager’s office is not going to do anything until someone with money and status becomes infected with MRSA, and threatens to sue someone. THEN they will listen, because money speaks very loudly in this city, I am afraid.

  Roxanne

• c // Oct 9, 2008 at 9:28 am

  Does anyone have the address and/or phone number of the attorneys that are handling this case?

• c // Oct 9, 2008 at 9:29 am

  my interest is in the case filed in New Jersey.

• Carol D. // Feb 16, 2009 at 9:21 pm

  Anyone out there? Last note 10/9/08. I thought I had a lawyer, but he just told me he had “too many cases” (after almost 2 years of thinking everything was OK).Got MRSA postop @ Nursing Home where I went for rehab ( no handwashing or sterile gloves used). Has anyone found a lawyer willing to take a MRSA case? I vote for a class action suit for us all!

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