Federal inmate wins lawsuit against United States of America; awarded $90,000 in damages

Bianca Moorman, Aiken Standard, S.C.
Updated ·3 min read

Aug. 29—A federal inmate who sued a federal prison in Edgefield County for a delay in medical care due to an injury from a fight was awarded $90,000.

In a federal civil lawsuit filed against the United States of America on Aug. 20, 2020, 64-year-old Larry D. Frye was awarded $90,000 to be recovered from the United States of America, according to a judgment from the court.

According to the lawsuit, while housed as an inmate in the Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Correctional Institution in Edgefield County, Frye was injured in a fight with a fellow inmate on Aug. 7, 2018.

During the altercation, Fry was hit with a cane, which broke and a sharp piece of the cane hit him in the face, the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Fry had a gash on his jaw that was bleeding, an abrasion on his head and an abrasion on his eye for which he was taken to the clinic.

Over the course of several months from August 2018 to October 2018, Frye repeatedly asked for medical care, complained about pain in his jaw and addressed concerns about an object in his jaw.

Frye alleges that the medical and nursing staff at the correctional facility delayed treatment and a surgery after he complained about jaw pain from a foreign object that was determined to be a wooden object.

The court said delaying the order for the CT scan and confirming a foreign object was a breach in the standard of care to Frye.

Connor said defendant argued that Frye's negligence contributed to his injuries, but the court disagreed.

"He continued to plea for assistance and it was ignored," Connor said. "You just can't just treat people like that."

The lawsuit said each time Frye asked for help and was evaluated, medical and nursing staff continued to deny him treatment.

Connor said the case took longer than it should have.

Frye finally received surgery for his injury Oct. 15, 2018 at Doctors Hospital in Augusta, before he was transferred to FCI Gilmer in West Virginia in November 2018.

The court said medical and nursing staff had the duty to timely and adequately assess Frye's facial injury, and recommend or refer him for imaging studies including a CT scan; refer Frye to a higher level of care for a complete evaluation and treatment; coordinate necessary care for Frye and secure treatment and surgical removal of the retained foreign object in his jaw, the lawsuit said.

The court said the medical and nursing staff failed to provide care and treatment within a standard of care from delay in providing care or securing treatment of the foreign body in Frye's jaw, the lawsuit said.

Frye was seeking to recover economic losses of medical services, which included the removal of the wooden object in his jaw and a follow-up appointment, damages for hearing loss, pain suffering, disfigurement, mental anguish, mental distress, anxiety, emotional injury, depression and loss of enjoyment of life.

"I think it's a fair amount given what he went through," Connor said.

Assistant attorney with the U.S. Attorney Office, District of South Carolina Robert Sneed who served as an attorney for the United States in the case said we will not be offering any comment.