Lawsuit: Prison officials could have prevented massive brain damage

Lawsuit: Prison officials could have prevented massive brain damage

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Testimony is scheduled to resume Tuesday in a trial over medical care in the Illinois prisons.

In 2007, while at Stateville prison, Ray Fox had an aneurysm. Because of the brain damage he suffered, he now requires care 24 hours a day. His elderly parents bathe him, help him walk and change his diapers. The parents are now suing two medical technicians who worked at the Stateville prison.

At the time of his incarceration Fox was on Dilantin, a drug that controlled his seizures, and his prescription had run out. An inmate who was in the next cell told attorneys that he heard Fox pleading for days with correctional officers and medical staffers to get him more of his medication. Medical records show the levels of Dilantin were very low in Fox’s body when he was rushed to the hospital. Attorneys say it was a series of seizures over several days that led to Fox’s devastating aneurysm.

Attorneys for the two prison workers say they’re not responsible because they provided very little care to Fox, and there’s very little documentation in the medical records to connect them to the case at all.