Inmate sues Texas prison system for $200,000 after flesh-eating bacteria ate through his ARM because 'the jail was too understaffed to take him to the hospital'
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Harold Millican, 37, was injured at Gist State Jail during drug conviction sentence
- He fell while working and his wound never healed, causing it to develop infection
- When he reported it to Gist State Jail officials, he was allegedly told they were too understaffed to take him to a hospital
- After a week, the flesh-eating infection became so bad he passed out in his dorm
- He says in suit that he was finally taken to hospital where he underwent surgery
- The suit seeks $200,000 after Millican underwent multiple surgeries afterward
- Millican named the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the warden at the Gist State Jail in the court document
A Texas inmate has sued the state's prison system for failing to take him to the hospital to be treated for a flesh-eating bacteria that ate through his arm.
Harold Millican, 37, claims in a lawsuit filed earlier this month that prison officials refused to take him to the hospital because the unit at Gist State Jail was too understaffed.
Millican's wound went untreated for a week, causing it to fester and ultimately eat away at his forearm and hand, according to the suit.
Texas inmate, Harold Millican, 37, has sued the state's prison system for failing to take him to the hospital to be treated for a flesh-eating bacteria that disfigured his arm (pictured)
Millican claims in the lawsuit filed earlier this month that prison officials refused to take him to the hospital because the unit at Gist State Jail was too understaffed
He named the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the warden at the Gist State Jail in the court document.
Millican accuses both defendants of 'callous indifference' and alleges they wouldn't offer 'proper care' or take him to the hospital for his arm infection until he went into shock and fell unconscious, according to Chron.com.
It all started when Millican, who was sentenced to six months in state jail for a drug conviction in 2016, fell and hurt his arm while at a work assignment.
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His lawyer, Allie Booker, told the news site that the injury didn't heal properly and Millican developed a methicillin-resistant staph infection.
Millican was first sent to the jail's infirmary, but he claims he was never taken to an actual hospital.
The wound continued to eat at his skin for about a week until he was finally taken to the hospital after being found passed out in his jail cell.
He named the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the warden at the Gist State Jail (pictured) in the court document. Millican accuses both defendants of 'callous indifference' and alleges they wouldn't offer 'proper care' or take him to the hospital for his arm infection
'They sat up there and watched him suffer,' said Booker told Chron.com.
According to the lawsuit, Millican underwent multiple surgeries that could have been prevented had he'd been seen by a doctor sooner.
'TDCJ knew that allowing an abscess that was yellow and green in color, growing, painful, damaging the skin, eating away at the skin and muscle of Plaintiff, and that had a foul odor was dangerous and or harmful to his health,' the suit claims.
The lawsuit is asking for at least $200,000 after the infection left Millican disfigured and 'permanently handicapped'.
It is also calling for the state's prison system to improve training for officers so that they can ensure medical treatment for inmates in the future.
