News link here to New York Daily News dated October 20th 2010.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/20/2010-10-20_175m_for_diabetic_denied_insulin_in_jail.html
Wow!
The City is appealing. It wasnāt enough that the ruined this guy. I wonder if this will cause a change.
I think the city has a chance on an appeal if he really did state on a medical form that he can control his diabetes by ādietā. Basically the jail thought he was type 2 after he was arrested.
If I read that correctly, it just says that the cop wrote on the form that āhe can control his diabetes with dietāā¦which doesnāt necessarily mean that the diabetic guy actually said that. And certainly, in 60 hours, someone should have noticed that this guy was not doing well if he was having seizures.
As to whether or not the judgement will have an impact, I would think it might if we all sent this article to our local police departments as a reminder that they need to be careful in how they treat diabetics!
Ruth
I have gone 60 hours without my insulin and nothing happened. Unless this guy was a serious severe diabetic, then maybe. But he was caught with drugs, so the drugs couldāve of been the culprit if he went through a withdrawal without illegal drugs
Iām sorry, but what is a āserious, severeā diabetic? I think most Type 1 diabetics, if without insulin for 60 hours, would be in DKA. Even if I wasnāt eating and didnāt need boluses for food, Iād be severely high after a little while from lack of basal insulin.
Wow, WTFā¦ How on earth can their medical staff not know he requires insulin? This is insane. I would consider any Type 1 a Severe Diabetic, because the very minute insulin is fully depleted in us, all hell breaks loose.
This makes me feel incredibly lucky that the county Jail here knows the severity of the disease, when I was 19 I was nailed for under age alcohol possession and hauled to the Sonoma county jail, but upon processing they confirmed I was a type 1, and they kicked my ā ā ā right out the door and wanted nothing to do with me. Which made this disease like a free out of jail pass, the only good thing it has done for me. Then I received a letter stating the misdemeanor charge was dropped, but Iām not sure if that part had anything to do with it.
I dont know how this guy was able to survive 60 hours of ultra acidic blood levels, but he is lucky to of survived, no thanks to the complete stupidity and lack of understanding of the Jailās medical staff. That is totally unacceptable, and his life has been completely ruined.
I couldnāt go half a day with out shots or I get really sick. What made you go 60 hours with out shots and how could you possibly feel ok? Iām sure the doctors proved in court that what happened was from lack of insulin and not a drug withdrawal.
Iāve never heard another diabetic say āserious, severe diabetic.ā How can there be degrees in the severity of diabetes if our bodies just donāt produce any insulin?
Most type 1ās should be in DKA if they go 60 hours without insulin. Iāve gone without insulin for just half a day and I was miserable.
There has actually been a quite a few diabetics who have died when they went to jail because of similar situations. I know in Texas in some cities they donāt have drunk holding tanks for that reason.
I couldnāt go that long either. I changed my pump site one night before bed (which you arenāt supposed to do for a reason!) and had a bad site. I woke up about 4 hours later sick as a dog.
I do it before bed, and I need to get out of that habit! I too can go downhill so fast. I was once given a regular soda when I ordered a diet. I didnāt realize it right away. Drank some of itā¦within 30 minutes I was vomiting and my blood sugar was over 600 (meter read HI).
Yeah I used to skip a shot or two a few years ago even if I wasnāt eating in about 4-6 hours I would be really sick. One time I skipped evening shots and had a small snack when I woke up it was āHIā and I never felt worse. I donāt skip shots anymore. I cant imagine 24 hours with out insulin even if I was fasting. It is no wonder he is in a wheel chair brain dead, canāt talk and has no comprehension that he was awarded the money. My guess is itās not reversible.
General population and press still have a lot of confusion between Type 1 and Type 2; may not even realize these are two different entities. āSevereā in their minds means ārequires insulin,ā Iām guessing. I doubt if most even realize the difference may be ārequires insulin to survive.ā I am glad this man won the lawsuit. The 17.5 million will be needed just to provide him with the medical care he will need as a result of the police officerās negligence. And even 17.5 million may not be enough to last him his lifetime. The type of medical attention now required could be extremely expensive.
Jails have nurses on staff so you would think they would know the difference between type1 and type2 more than the general population. A lot of people that get arrested can get their prescriptions filled once arrested. Many have oral meds for heart problems and such.
But if doctors donāt get it, why should nurses? I have had my insulin withheld twice after being admitted to a hospital. If you read what happened to Missy, she had the same thing happen. I am sure that is more common than most people probably realize. If someone was arrested and people arenāt listening to them, it is not like you can demand to be moved to a different jail so you can get insulin.
Prisons do have nurses; not sure if holding cells in police stations have nurses on staff (doubt it). And getting an educated nurse is the luck of the draw.
No, every jail and prison, when you get arrested asks you if you āneed any medical attentionā or ātake any prescribed medication.ā If it is a small rural jail with no nurse they still ask you and if you say yes then they take you to the hospital while still in custody.
But I agree with the part about whether or not the nurse is educated.
Just because they should do that does not mean they actually do that. My brother was locked up in a Baltimore jail when pulled over for a traffic stop because they thought he had not paid a previous fine. It was paid but just not showing up when the cop checked. He was supposed to get a phone call but they gave him a code that did not work., He kept telling them it did not work and they said they would get one that worked. He was there for 3 days before anyone found him. He was on his way to pick up a co-worker when it happened the cop let him use call his buddy before being hauled off to jail or he would have literally been lost in the system because of a mistake. His boss had the cell phone company find out where his last call was made from so they could find him and that took days. He was not diabetic but he was sick the whole time he was there and was denied medical treatment. What you see on TV is not how it is in real life.
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