At least three inmates at the Cascade County Detention Center tested positive for hepatitis C for the first time after they were served food contaminated with a kitchen worker’s blood in September, according to a lawsuit.
The case, filed earlier this month by 27 inmates, claims that employees of the jail’s food service vendor told kitchen staff not to dispose of the contaminated food and that inmates could “scoop around” the blood. The lawsuit names the food service vendor, Summit Correctional Services, and five unnamed employees as defendants.
The contamination came from an unnamed inmate who was preparing lunch on Sept. 28 under the supervision of employees from Summit Correctional Services. The inmate experienced a nosebleed while preparing a lunch pasta dish, and some blood got into the meals.
Another inmate saw the contamination and attempted to dispose of the food, but Summit employees, identified in the lawsuit as “Does 1-5,” ordered them to return the food back into the service line, court documents state. Some of the inmates saw blood in their food trays, according to case documents.
The inmate with the nosebleed was positive for hepatitis C, and the testing of inmates began after the incident. Court documents say that “some of the plaintiffs have since tested positive for the first time in their lives with hepatitis C.” The documents said that they’ve experienced “jaundice, weight loss, confusion and fatigue” as a result.
Tim Bechtold, a Missoula-based attorney for the inmates, told Montana Free Press Monday that three people have tested positive for hepatitis C since being exposed to the contaminated food. Testing is ongoing for the other inmates.
More inmates may be added as plaintiffs to the case, and it’s not yet fully known how many people were exposed to the contaminated food, Bechtold said. Food preparation works like a conveyor belt. As trays move down the food line, workers add items to the trays, which are then placed on a cart and sent to inmate blocks. It’s unclear how much of that day’s pasta dish might have been contaminated and sent out to the rest of the jail.
Bechtold does know where the first batch of contaminated food went.
“All three of the women’s pods got served,” Bechtold said. “Their trays were on the rack and were served first.”
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Great Falls, alleges negligence by Summit’s employees, the violation of the inmates’ constitutional rights and battery due to the alleged harm caused by the contamination.
On Oct. 8, the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release about the incident. In the release, Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said that a Summit kitchen supervisor stopped the inmate food preparer from discarding the contaminated food and returned it to the serving line. The release said that the sheriff’s office wasn’t notified until two days after the incident.
The release stated that the county revoked the security clearance of the Summit kitchen supervisor and added that “no other housing units were impacted.” Slaughter issued a statement calling Summit’s actions inexcusable.
There was no public acknowledgement of hepatitis C contamination at that time.
Reached on Monday, Slaughter said that he had no further comment due to the lawsuit. Neither Cascade County nor the sheriff’s office is a defendant in the lawsuit. Slaughter did say that Summit is still the jail’s food service vendor.
Included in the sheriff’s office’s Oct. 8 press release was a statement from Summit Correctional Services. It said, “We took immediate corrective action and are conducting a comprehensive review of our food safety practices, including retraining all team members. We take this matter very seriously, and remain fully committed to maintaining the highest standards of food safety, quality and transparency across every aspect of our operations.”
Inquiries made to South Dakota-based Summit and its French parent company, Elior Group, weren’t returned by midday Monday. A call to Summit’s listed phone number continued to ring with no voicemail.
No court hearing has been scheduled in this case.
This story was originally published by Montana Free Press at montanafreepress.org.
