The Florida Justice Institute filed a class action lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) for failing to provide incarcerated people with life-saving medications for hepatitis C, resulting in thousands being left at risk for liver failure, liver cancer, and a very painful death. The case is brought on behalf of three prisoners—Carl Hoffer, Ronald McPherson, and Roland Molina—and seeks to certify a class of all FDC prisoners who have been, or will be, diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C. The lawsuit alleges that, although the FDC has a written policy addressing the treatment of hepatitis C, in practice it provides medications to almost no one. The lawsuit seeks an immediate injunction requiring the FDC to develop a plan to provide DAA medications to all prisoners with hepatitis C, consistent with the medical standard of care. “The FDC recognizes that hepatitis C is a serious disease that is easy to cure,” said Randall C. Berg, Jr., FJI’s Executive Director. “Yet, it routinely fails to provide lifesaving medication to people incarcerated in Florida.”
The Court ordered the FDOC to implement a plan to test, monitor, and treat people with hepatitis C, and as a result thousands of people have received treatment. The case is now closed, but the FDOC hepatitis C treatment policy remains in place.