An individual at one MoDOC facility injured his finger in November of 2020. He was seen by a Corizon doctor the week before Thanksgiving. The doctor told him that his finger was just “jammed” and that he would “be fine” multiple times. This man’s finger (on his dominant hand) continued to cause him extreme pain and didn’t heal. He was transferred to another MoDOC facility and the hand was left untreated by Corizon staff. The family advocated for the individual with the help of Missouri Prison Reform and filed a complaint with the ACLU. Eventually the incarcerated man was seen by a surgeon (in late January or early February of 2021) and an x-ray was done on his injured hand. The surgeon informed him that the hand was fractured and a piece of bone is missing from the fracture. The incarcerated man needs surgery to repair his hand. They will have to find a piece of bone from his other hand to repair the fracture and he will lose all feeling in his dominant hand. He now has to wait months for his surgery while remaining in extreme pain and unable to use his dominant hand.
Unfortunately, while this incident is serious, we hear much more severe cases of neglect on the part of Corizon staff and providers. Corizon and the Missouri Department of Corrections would rather pay out lawsuits than correct this behavior.
