By C1 Staff
PHEONIX, Ariz. — The Arizona Department of Corrections is now facing a lawsuit for allegedly refusing to treat an inmate while he was in intense pain, leading to his death.
According to AZ Central, inmate Anthony Brown was serving a 10-year sentence at the Lewis Prison in Buckeye for aggravated assault. He suffered from cancer that was believed to be in remission, but was still prescribed morphine for pain.
In video acquired by AZ Central, Brown is shown to be yelling. A nurse working for Wexford Health Services, which operates the medical units inside the state prison, insists that he’s faking the pain in order to gain access to stronger medication.
Internal documents show the nurse writing “he was faking because wants double narcotics and he’s not getting them.”
Brown was placed back in his cell, where a chaplain later checked on him. When the inmate was found to be unresponsive, corrections staff took over after the medical staff refused to see him. Brown then went into cardiac arrest and given CPR by the corrections staff.
He died en route to the hospital. Brown’s widow and daughter lodged a notice of claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit against the Department of Corrections, Wexford, the nurse who claimed Brown was faking his pain, and other medical staff.