Knoxville News-Sentinel
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — The family of an inmate who died in jail claims a nurse ordered the man taken to the hospital but was overruled by a supervisor.
The family of Billy Foster made the claim in a $2 million lawsuit filed in federal court last week. The suit claims the Sevier County Jail failed to provide adequate medical care and was negligent, according to The Mountain Press newspaper.
A message for Sheriff Ron Seals was not immediately returned.
Foster died Feb. 27, 2011, from heart disease with a seizure disorder as a significant contributing factor. On the day of his death, he had been suffering seizures since early morning. The suit claims the jail has a practice of not taking inmates for outside medical care in order to save money.
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