A federal lawsuit says inmates at Michigan’s only prison for women suffered severe itching and permanent scarring because officials took more than a year to diagnose and properly treat a scabies outbreak.
The Detroit Free Press reports the lawsuit on behalf of prisoner Rebecca Smith was filed Thursday. Smith’s lawyer Daniel Randazzo says he has letters from more than 200 inmates at Huron Valley prison near Ypsilanti who suffered during the outbreak of parasitic mites that burrow under the skin and lay eggs.
The Michigan Department of Corrections didn’t comment on the pending lawsuit, but has said over the past year it was working to deal with the rashes and determine the source.
Smith says it’s difficult to estimate possible damages that could come from the case.
