Man's strangulated hernia dismissed as gas at Krome — hospital doctor says intestines could have ruptured
A man detained at Krome woke on May 28 in extreme abdominal and back pain. The officer refused his request to see a doctor, saying it was not a medical emergency. He had to throw himself on the floor. Staff eventually wheeled him to the medical team, where the doctor said he likely just had gas and offered Pepto-Bismol and two Tylenols. Only after he refused to leave did the doctor agree to send him to the hospital. A CAT scan revealed a strangulated abdominal wall hernia. The hospital doctor told him that if he had not come in then, his intestines would have likely ruptured. By late June, the man reported that staff had not allowed anyone in his cell of 98 men to make a sick call in six days. When an older man reported chest pains, the lieutenant said, 'That's not a medical emergency, do a sick call.' The cell launched a hunger strike before officers took the man for care.
