$1 Million Partial Settlement for Washington Jail Detainee’s Leg Amputation
Reports surfaced in October 2024 that low-level medical professionals in multiple Washington jails were making decisions about detainee healthcare that they were not trained or licensed to make. That was due to an absence of higher-level medical staffers, which was in turn attributed to cost-saving measures by their privately contracted provider, NaphCare, Inc.
One detainee at the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma lost his leg in 2018 after NaphCare staffers allegedly missed a blod clot that led to an infection, ultimately requiring amputation of the limb. It wasn’t until a guard noticed that Javier Tapia’s toes had turned black that the 42-year-old finally saw a doctor. At that point, it was too late to save his leg.
With the aid of attorneys from Galanda Broadman PLLC in Seattle, Tapia filed suit against Pierce County and NaphCare in 2022. Defendants moved to dismiss the claims, but the federal court for the Western District of Washington largely denied their motion on May 23, 2023. They argued that they couldn’t be liable for the injury before they noticed it. “But that is the very point,” the Court replied; despite repeated interactions with Defendant staffers over the first three months of Tapia’s incarceration, “no one thought to physically examine him”; whether this was reasonable was a matter for trial, not a motion to dismiss, the Court said. The Court also refused to reconsider that decision on June 27, 2023, and then refused to certify it for an interlocutory appeal on March 21, 2024. See: Tapia v. Naphcare Inc., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90264 (W.D. Wash.); 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110970 (W.D. Wash.); and 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50754 (W.D. Wash.).
The case proceeded to NaphCare’s motion for summary judgment, which was denied on January 14, 2025, and another by Pierce County, which was largely denied on January 27, 2025. In both rulings, the Court again found Defendants’ arguments were about matters best resolved in a trial. See: Tapia v. Naphcare Inc., Tapia v. Naphcare Inc., No. C22-1141-KKE, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7277 (W.D. Wash.); and 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14223 (W.D. Wash.).
Tapia then picked up additional representation from Seattle attorney Edwin S. Budge of Budge & Heipt, who stipulated to dismissal of the claims against Pierce County on March 7, 2025, reportedly after the County agreed to pay a $1 million settlement. PLN has requested documentation and will report details, along with further developments in the claims against NaphCare, which remain pending. See: Tapia v. Naphcare Inc., USDC (W.D. Wash.), Case No. 2:22-cv-01141.
As PLN reported, the Alabama-based firm has also been accused of charging for higher level services than its staffers actually performed, paying nearly $700,000 in 2021 to settle such accusations at several lockups where it was contracted to provide medical care by the federal Bureau of Prisons. [See: PLN, Apr. 2024, p.1.]
In Washington, NaphCare Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), who have two years of schooling, were found to be providing care reserved for Registered Nurses (RNs), who have at least four years of college-level education. Said one former company RN at the Pierce County Jail, “It felt unsafe.”
“There weren’t a lot of checks and balances,” added the RN, Bridget Stixrood. “LPNs had to do work that an RN probably should be doing, and NaphCare really was expanding the scope of practice of an LPN outside of what they legally were supposed to do.”
Additional sources: KING, Tacoma News Tribune
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