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County, Provider Cleared in Inmate Suit: Former Prisoner in Northampton Said Medical Care in Response to Fall From Top Bunk Flawed.

Posted on: Tuesday, 21 March 2006, 09:01 CST

By Paul Muschick, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

Mar. 21--Northampton County Prison and its medical provider were cleared earlier this month from a federal lawsuit filed by a former inmate.

John Veanus, 51, had sued in 2002 alleging he was not properly cared for after he fell from a top bunk as he slept in 2000.

His attorney, Samuel Silver of Philadelphia, said Veanus has not decided if he will appeal the verdict.

Veanus had told prison officials about a sleeping disorder but still was assigned a top bunk, according to his lawsuit. He alleged he was not taken to the hospital until more than seven hours after he fell, and that he was given medication that caused breathing problems.

According to his lawsuit, Veanus later was diagnosed with a concussion and cracked sinus cavity.

County officials and PrimeCare Medical Inc., the Harrisburg company the county pays to provide prison medical care, said in court documents his injuries were not serious and did not require overnight hospitalization.

Prison officials defended themselves by saying in court documents that Veanus admitted during a deposition that he had never fallen out of a prison bunk before.

They said Veanus was given immediate medical attention, including tests at Easton Hospital, after he fell.

"It is a stretch to even characterize 7 1/2 hours as a delay," the county responded in court papers. "Non-emergency patients at busy hospitals across the nation wait hours to be seen. [Veanus] is asking for more prompt treatment than he would likely receive if he was not incarcerated."

Veanus was treated in his cell after the fall and was carried on a stretcher to the prison infirmary where he received more treatment before being taken to the hospital, PrimeCare said in court documents.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Savage dropped county Corrections Director Todd Buskirk and Acting Warden Scott Hoke from the lawsuit March 8.

Savage allowed Veanus to proceed with his lawsuit against PrimeCare Medical. After a two-day trial in Philadelphia, a jury ruled in favor of PrimeCare last Tuesday.

Veanus is jailed at the state prison in Graterford, Montgomery County, serving a 13-to-28-year sentence on drug-related charges, prison spokeswoman Robin Lucas said.

paul.muschick@mcall.com

610-559-2146

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

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Source: The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania

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