On May 21, 2008, Matthew Wisecarver, a former King County Jail inmate, filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that jail officials violated inmates' constitutional rights when they failed to stop the spread of the highly infectious disease known as MRSA. During a 5-month period, at least 65 inmates were diagnosed with MRSA and one inmate died while in custody. Wisecarver suffered serious injuries when surgeons were forced to dig into his hand to remove a MRSA infection he reportedly contracted in jail. To read more about this litigation, click here.

Similar MRSA lawsuits have been filed across the country. For example, a class-action lawsuit over prison conditions and an outbreak of MRSA infection at Bucks County's jail in Pennsylvania has finally been settled after more than 5 years. A federal judge approved a long list of measures that have already been, or will be, implemented at the Bucks County Correctional Facility to stem the spread of MRSA in its jails. Under the terms of the settlement, Bucks County will pay $60,000.00. To read more, click here.