Press Coverage

The state of Florida may have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in treatment costs to as many as 20,000 sick inmates after a federal judge ruled Friday that prison officials had failed to properly care for felons infected with the hepatitis C virus. The ruling, by U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker, requires […]

The Florida Department of Corrections on Wednesday requested over $19 million to treat inmates who have the Hepatitis C virus, even as the state prisons agency is embroiled in a class-action lawsuit over that treatment. The request was made before the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, as part of each state agency’s annual legislative budget request. Treatment for Hep C costs […]

Ever heard of the drug, Harvoni? Classified as a “direct acting anti-viral drug,” it’s said to have a high rate of success in treating Hepatitis C. Now, drugs, like Harvoni, are at the center of a lawsuit on behalf of Florida inmates who have the blood borne disease that can attack the liver. And, these […]

BY JERRY IANNELLI Hepatitis C is not all that difficult to treat. A class of drug called direct-acting antivirals, or DAAs, has been proven at least 90 percent effective in curing the condition. Just 1 percent of the U.S. population typically lives with hep C — but that rate is far higher, up to 17 […]

BY JULIE K. BROWN Thousands of Florida prison inmates who have hepatitis C are not getting adequate medication and treatment — leaving them at risk for liver failure, liver cancer and death, according to a lawsuit filed against the Florida Department of Corrections. The case, brought on behalf of three state prison inmates who have […]

BY MARY ELLEN KLAS TALLAHASSEE.  About 1,800 current and former Florida prison inmates who were denied medical care for hernias will be entitled to divide $1.7 million in damages from a class-action lawsuit under a conditional settlement agreed to by the Department of Corrections and its former prison health-care provider, Corizon, and filed in federal […]

Attorneys from the nonprofit Florida Justice Institute teamed with Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton lawyers for a high-profile class-action against the Florida Department of Corrections and its former medical contractor, Corizon LLC. They negotiated a $2.1 million settlement with the defendants, who were accused of denying prisoners hernia operations to save money. Institute executive director Randall Berg […]

The Florida Department of Corrections and former prison health-care provider Corizon have agreed to pay about $2.1 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that the state agency and the company denied hernia operations to inmates to save money. Under the settlement, Corizon agreed to pay $1.7 million to current and former inmates. The Department […]

In a first-of-its kind decision, a federal judge in Tallahassee has ordered that local voting districts in nearby Jefferson County be redrawn, saying their boundaries are unconstitutional because of a system critics call “prison gerrymandering.” U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on Friday ruled against the county on a motion for summary judgment, effectively disposing of the case brought […]

The Federal District Court for Florida’s Northern District ruled Monday that the prison gerrymandering in Florida’s Jefferson County unconstitutionally dilutes the voting power of its residents. By packing inmates who can’t vote into a district, but counting them when drawing electoral maps, District Judge Mark Walker said the county had violated the “one person, one […]