Inmate Advocates File Lawsuit To Establish Standards for Dental Care in Prisons
The not-for-profit Prison Law Office on Monday filed a class-action lawsuit in federal District Court regarding dental care in state prisons, the Sacramento Bee reports. PLO also filed a settlement agreement that would establish minimum standards for care.
The agreement, signed by the state and an attorney representing inmates, would set care standards for dental exams, treatment, medication and tracking.
Both sides in the case -- the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and PLO -- have requested that U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson hear the case. Henderson earlier this year placed the prison health system in receivership.
Inmate attorney Alison Hardy said the dental care agreement is an outgrowth of negotiations over medical care, but she added that the receiver would not be responsible for overseeing dental care (Sacramento Bee, 12/20).