This is one of a pair of class action cases filed by inmates who claimed to have been infected with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) while incarcerated in Kentucky jails. MRSA is a flesh eating bacteria that can cause debilitating open sores, pain and death. In the Laurel County case, Lester Napier, an inmate in poor health, alleged that he was exposed and got infected by MRSA while locked up in the Laurel County Detention Center. Plaintiff alleged that the habitually overcrowded condition of the Jail (average population being 157% of capacity) and the deliberate indifference of jail officials to prevent infectious disease caused his exposure. Plaintiff's complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in August 2006, specifically alleged violations of his rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff sought declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages, as well as class certification.

According to the PACER docket, the parties have engaged in discovery and discovery-related motion practice since the suit was filed. The District Court (Judge Danny C. Reeves) entered a scheduling order but no trial date had been set.

In August 2007, an attorney representing five other individual plaintiffs filed a motion to consolidate those cases with the Napier case.

At the time of this summary, the case was still active.

Dan Dalton - 09/17/2007


compress summary