Alabama

Ex-Alabama prison inmate gets $400K after toes amputated from medical neglect

Published

7 months ago

May 23, 2024

Ex-Alabama prison inmate gets 0K after toes amputated from medical neglect

A Mobile federal jury awarded a former Alabama prison inmate $400,000 on Tuesday after all the toes on his left foot had to be amputated because prison medical staff failed to treat his wounds, court records showed.

Dr. Manuel Pouparinaa “was deliberately indifferent to the medical needs of Canyon Moye,” the jury determined, according to court records showed.,

Moye, a resident of Uriah, in Monroe County, was an inmate at the Escambia County Jail, Kilby Correctional Facility in Montgomery and Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore.

Moye had back surgery in 2015 that led to a lack of feeling in his feet, and sustained a wound to his left toe while walking barefoot in 2016. He was treated for the injury in 2017 and 2018.

Shortly after Moye was incarcerated at Kilby in August 2019, his left foot developed blisters, which he claimed was a result of the “poor quality of shoes” he was issued in prison.

The wound deteriorated, and following complaints by his father about the conditions at Kilby, Moye was transferred to Fountain.

When he arrived at the Atmore prison in September or early October 2019, the wound worsened, his lawsuit stated.

“By late October 2019, there was a stench from the wounds on Plaintiff’s foot and there were holes in the pad of Plaintiff’s foot below the big toe and below the middle toe area,” the suit stated.

Moye was given “little to no treatment other than cleaning the wound and … some ointment to apply,” according to the suit.

“The failure to send the Plaintiff to a wound care physician and/or a general surgeon was unreasonable, harsh, and a deliberate indifference to the medical needs of the Plaintiff, given the obvious severity of his condition and the need for immediate and in-depth treatment,” the lawsuit stated. “Any qualified nurse or medical doctor would and/or should have known that an infected wound of this nature would cause sever additional injury if not quickly and properly treated. Further, the prison guards and the warden at Fountain knew or should have known that the obvious, severe injury suffered by Plaintiff needed immediate and in-depth medical treatment.”

Pouparina serves as the medical director at Fountain but is employed by Wexford Medical Services Inc., which has a contract to provide health services to Alabama inmates. He along with nurses who work for Wexford treated Moye.

Moye said he asked the prison warden “for adequate medical treatment for his deteriorating foot” but the request was ignored.

“This caused Plaintiff’s wound to worsen to the point where all of the toes on his left foot had to be amputated,” the suit stated.

After further neglect from the warden, the wound deteriorated “to the point where a significant hole on his foot developed,” according to the lawsuit.

Nurses and other medical staff who work for Wexford refused Moye’s request for medical treatment, the suit alleged.

In 2020, Moye was eventually sent for a consultation with a general surgeon who performed the amputation.

Moye was housed at the county jail during recovery and the wound healed, but again developed a hole in his foot after being returned to Fountain.

“Fountain personnel and the Wexford staff of medical personnel continued to provide inadequate treatment by not properly packing the wounds, not properly wrapping the wound, and not allowing necessary treatment modalities,” the suit stated. “The failure to adequately treat Plaintiff’s wound caused the wound to continue to fester for the additional 12-plus months Plaintiff remained at Fountain following his surgery.”

The Mobile jury, which awarded Moye $400,000 in compensatory damages, found the former inmate was not entitled to any punitive damages.

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Alabama

Portion of Alabama 59 in Baldwin County closed following two-vehicle crash

Published

7 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Press Room

Portion of Alabama 59 in Baldwin County closed following two-vehicle crash

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WALA) – A two-vehicle crash on Alabama 59 near Baldwin County 34 has closed down the road, according to law enforcement.

Authorities said the crash occurred at 8:23 pm.

Law enforcement is on scene investigating and there is no timetable on when it will be reopened.

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Alabama

Alabama’s recent focus on defense pays off in blowout win over Kent State

Published

15 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Alabama’s recent focus on defense pays off in blowout win over Kent State

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Nate Oats started his postgame press conference explaining why Alabama would have a much better winter break after its 81-54 win over Kent State. According to Oats, a happy holiday hinged on the Tide’s defensive performance against the Golden Flashes.

“Much better defensive effort so it’ll be a lot better Christmas break for us,” Oats said with a smile at the podium. “We did make a big point of emphasis on defense, especially after that debacle up in North Dakota with [Fighting Hawks guard Treysen Eaglestaff].”

It was far from a perfect offensive display for the Tide against Kent State. Alabama’s lingering turnover issues reared its ugly head for a second straight and the Tide continued shooting poorly from 3-point range.

However, after defensive letdowns nearly sprang an upset in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Alabama got back to the basics over the next few days at practice. The team worked on defensive fundamentals rather than solely focusing on film study.

That extra emphasis paid off as Alabama equaled its lowest points allowed in a game this season with 54. Tide forward Grant Nelson swatted a shot attempt by Kent State’s leading scorer VonCameron Davis in the opening few minutes, which helped set the tone the rest of the way.

“I think that [block] and just really everyone loading in the gaps, helping each other out,” Nelson said of Alabama’s defensive performance. “I thought that was huge. I think we kept them to six points in the first three media timeouts, that was huge for us. We emphasized that like I said and just a lot of credit to our guys for carrying it over on the court.”

While Alabama didn’t shoot the ball well, it made sure Kent State’s shooting was even more ineffective. Alabama communicated well on switches and contested shots from beyond the arc. It honed in on Davis, who averages 14.9 points per game but was limited to under 10 points for just the second time this season. Davis scored nine on an inefficient 4 of 15 from the field and had a minus-31 box plus-minus rating.

Coming into the game, Oats also felt like Kent State guard Jalen Sullinger (9.7 points per game) could be a dangerous weapon against Alabama’s defense with the potential to do the same thing Eaglestaff did for North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks guard scored a career-high 40 points, single-handedly pulling them back into the game late.

After missing the mark severely on guarding Eaglestaff, the Tide understood the assignment when it came to Sullinger and locked down the Kent State senior.

“He ended up shooting 1 of 14 and didn’t score in the second half,” Oats said. “So I think we did a little bit of a better job being locked in to a perimeter guy. We held them to a pretty good field goal percentage, they only shot 28%. Traditionally, this has been one of the hardest playing teams — I was in the MAC for six years and they get all of the O Boards. We gave up too many second-chance points but I thought for the most part our first-shot defense was good.”

Alabama continued to play effective post-defense in spite of the offensive rebounds. The Tide finished with six blocks as a team. Center Clifford Omoruyi won the Hard Hat Award for the most blue collar points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Nelson had 14. Off the bench, Derrion Reid had a pair of steals while Mouhamed Dioubate chipped in with two blocks.

Following the win, Alabama jumped from No. 57 to No. 42 in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. As the Tide looks to build on its defensive momentum, better play on offense will have to follow. Alabama’s defense is much improved from last season when it was at its best, but it won’t be able to win games on defense alone when league play tips off on Jan. 4.

“We struggled a little offensively, and we’re gonna have to figure some stuff out here before SEC play,” Oats said. “The turnovers have been really just way too many — 13 in the first half. We did the same thing two games in a row. We only had one the second half against North Dakota. We ended up with six in the second half here. So we’ve got to do a better job at turnovers. I don’t have an answer for the free throw problems, but the only way to fix that is get in the gym and work. The good thing for us is we don’t have any school for a few weeks here, so after they get back from Christmas break, we’ll be in the gym and putting some time in.”

Alabama will conclude non-conference play against Summit League side South Dakota State. The Tide and Jackrabbits will tip off at 2 p.m. CT Dec. 29 inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

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Alabama

How cold did Alabama get last night? These cities had the lowest temperatures

Published

23 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

How cold did Alabama get last night? These cities had the lowest temperatures

Very cold temperatures greeted Alabamians on Sunday morning.

The National Weather Service said temperatures overnight bottomed out in the low 20s in parts of the state and even were at the freezing mark in south Alabama.

Here were the lowest temperatures between midnight and 6 a.m. Sunday from around Alabama from the National Weather Service:

* Alexander City: 30 degrees

* Anniston: 23 degrees

* Auburn: 28 degrees

* Birmingham: 24 degrees

* Decatur: 25 degrees

* Demopolis: 25 degrees

* Dothan: 30 degrees

* Evergreen: 28 degrees

* Eufaula: 28 degrees

* Gadsden: 21 degrees

* Haleyville: 22 degrees

* Huntsville: 26 degrees

* Mobile: 31 degrees

* Montgomery: 25 degrees

* Muscle Shoals: 24 degrees

* Ozark: 29 degrees

* Prattville: 25 degrees

* Sylacauga: 24 degrees

* Talladega: 22 degrees

* Troy: 26 degrees

* Tuscaloosa: 25 degrees

Temperatures today will be a few degrees higher than on Saturday. Highs will range from the low to mid-40s in south Alabama to the 50s in central Alabama, to the mid-50s in south Alabama (today’s forecast is at the top of this post).

Tonight will be chilly again, but not as cold as last night. Here are the forecast low temperatures from Sunday night into Monday morning:

Tonight’s low temperatures won’t be quite as cold as last night.NWS

Gradual warming is expected to continue this week, with the next chances for rain arriving on Wednesday, Christmas Day. The weather service isn’t expecting a lot of rain, and no severe weather is anticipated.

High temperatures on Christmas Day will be warmer, with 60s expected across a wide area and possibly some 70s near the coast. Here are the expected Christmas Day temperatures:

Wednesday highs — It will be warmer across much of Alabama on Christmas Day. Above is the forecast for Wednesday.NWS

The warming trend looks to hold past Christmas. Here is the six- to 10-day temperature outlook, and it shows a high probability of above-average temperatures for Alabama through the end of December: