LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A former inmate at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, claims in a lawsuit that he was left untreated for days after suffering a paralyzing injury.
The lawsuit filed last week on behalf of 58-year-old Brent Kehler names several prison officers and medical staff.
Kehler pleaded guilty to a methamphetamine distribution charge in 2018 and was sentenced to nine years in prison. The lawsuit says he fell in November 2019 after his cell in Leavenworth was flooded with wastewater.
The lawsuit says Kehler immediately experienced hip pain and eventually couldn't get out of bed. The suit says he begged for medical assistance but none was provided.
Eventually he reported being unable to move or feel anything from his abdomen to his toes. Doctors determined he suffered an epidural abscess with cervical cord swellings and a possible spinal cord infarction. He had surgery but remained paralyzed.
Kehler was later transferred to a prison in Springfield, Missouri. He was released last year.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons told the Star in an email that the agency “is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates in our population, our staff, and the public.”