The death of a diabetic inmate at a Philadelphia prison triggers a federal lawsuit

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A Philadelphia prison caused the death of a diabetic inmate by failing to provide insulin and other medical care, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by the man's family.

Louis Jung Jr., 50, was an inmate at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility when he died on November 6, 2023 from ketoacidosis, a serious complication of diabetes.

The Philadelphia Department of Corrections did not administer insulin to Jung, who had Type 1 diabetes, in the last six days of his life, the lawsuit says. Prison doctors also failed to conduct glucose monitoring, call emergency care, send Jung to the hospital or take him to the infirmary, the lawsuit says.

The plaintiffs are suing the city of Philadelphia and YesCare, a prison health care company, both of which declined to comment. Medical officials at the facility and unnamed correctional officers are also listed as defendants.

“My father had diabetes and simply needed insulin. I can't imagine how inhumanely they treated him. How they allowed him to lie there, suffer and die,” one of his sons, James Jung, said in a statement released by the Abolitionist Law Center.

The center filed the lawsuit on behalf of Jung and his brother. It said at least two other inmates have died of ketoacidosis while in prison authority custody since 2014.