A pregnant inmate who went into labor in a Loudon County jail was denigrated by guards and repeatedly denied medical care until her water broke, forcing her to deliver a premature baby in the back of an ambulance en route a local hospital, a newly filed lawsuit claims.
The baby — a girl — was born with complete deafness in one ear and limited hearing in the other; prompt medical care may have allowed the pregnancy to continue to term, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week against Loudon County and five unnamed employees of the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.
Genny Jones, the former inmate, is seeking unspecified monetary damages, payment of all future medical expenses for her daughter, mandatory training for jail staff — and a finding that the county violated her constitutional rights during her confinement last year at the jail in Lenoir City, about halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga.
“No matter what a person’s circumstances are, maternal health should never be disregarded like was the case with Ms. Jones,” a statement from Heather Collins and Ashley Walter of HMC Civil Rights Law, Jones’ Brentwood-based attorneys, said.
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