Jury awards $52.4M to inmates impacted by tuberculosis outbreak at WA prisons

On Wednesday, the King County Superior Court jury awarded nearly $54 million to those impacted by a tuberculosis outbreak at Washington state prisons.

According to the law firm representing the incarcerated individuals, the outbreak, which began in 2021 at Clallam Bay and Stafford Creek Corrections Centers, became Washington’s largest tuberculosis outbreak in 20 years.

The firm said the disease was able to spread among incarcerated individuals when one man repeatedly sought medical care for a “severe, persistent cough beginning in 2019.”

“The patient warned DOC medical staff that he had previously contracted tuberculosis and expressly asked staff to ensure his latent TB remained “dormant.” His coughing became so violent that he fractured multiple ribs. Over the course of two years, during which his symptoms remained constant, DOC failed to diagnose and isolate him despite over a dozen medical visits and written requests for help. Ignoring its own policies and basic tuberculosis protocols, DOC transferred the contagious patient to Stafford Creek, where he unknowingly exposed other incarcerated men to the disease,” the firm explained.

The firm said that transfer led to the exposure among other inmates.

As a result, some of the inmates suffered irreversible lung scarring and open cavities, heart damage, painful medical procedures, prolonged hospitalizations, months of medical isolation, and other lasting injuries, according to the firm.

Patients developed both active and latent tuberculosis, the firm said.

“The CDC found that DOC had suspended routine tuberculosis screening and failed to promptly diagnose patients exhibiting symptoms of the disease,” the firm said in a press release.

On Oct. 28, the civil case against the DOC came to a close.

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A jury selected by both parties heard the details during a month-long trial and valued damages for each individual plaintiff separately, ranging from $200,000 to $5,000,000 per person.

In total, $52,390,000 was awarded between several individuals.

“A prison sentence is not a sentence to suffer preventable disease,” said Micah LeBank of Connelly Law Offices, attorney for the plaintiffs. “The State controls where these men live, where they sleep, and whether they receive medical care. They cannot simply walk out and find another doctor. Dennis Oya repeatedly asked for help, but DOC failed to recognize and treat his tuberculosis. That failure had devastating consequences for these men.”