TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) — Many Arizonans with legal claims against Corizon, which used to be the largest provider of health care in prisons, are stuck in limbo as the company goes through bankruptcy.
How that bankruptcy is being handled is raising eyebrows and even has some lawmakers demanding action.
The News 4 Tucson Investigators have spent years covering malpractice claims against Corizon, such as the 2014 case of Michael Levy.
Levy was an inmate at the state prison complex in Tucson.
He suffered some severe medical complications and claims Corizon did not act quickly to address the problems. He ended up in a coma and became disabled.
He was eventually released from prison and sued Corizon. They chose to settle out of court for an undisclosed amount, and the agreement stops Levy from speaking out about the company today.
Levy’s lawyer Anne Findling now represents more clients with claims against Corizon, such as Jennifer Power.
Power is suing Corizon after her husband, who was an inmate in Kingman, was being transferred to the prison in Tucson and died from a heat stroke.
According to an autopsy report, the bus’s air conditioning was not working, and the transport happened in the middle of June.
“They didn’t do nothing. There’s like 10 hospitals on the way, (and) they did absolutely nothing,” Power said. “He was so much more than being a criminal; he was my husband. He was their dad, he was my grandkids’ grandpa, and we lost all that.”
“According to the officers, they didn’t do anything, relying on Corizon,” Findling said.
Power’s case is being held up because Corizon has filed for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy is facing scrutiny because Corizon has been able to create two new companies, Tehum Care Services and YesCare.
They have declared bankruptcy under Tehum Care Services and offloaded all the debts onto that company, about $82 million to around 1,000 creditors. YesCare is now doing business and making profits without any of the debt.
It’s a legal practice in the Southern District of Texas where the bankruptcy was filed.
“The way Corizon did this, in my opinion, should be illegal,” said Tucson attorney Michael Crawford.
Crawford represents the widow of a man named David Windhurst, who died in 2016 while at the state prison in Tucson under the care of Corizon.
Windhurst’s widow accuses the company of wrongful death. After several in-court victories, the case is still awaiting trial. Crawford believes this bankruptcy practice will likely leave the State of Arizona on the hook for millions.
“In our lawsuit we included the state because they have a duty to provide health care in prison. The taxpayers should be furious about this,” Crawford said.
A group of nine U.S. Senators have written a letter to Tehum Care Services and YesCare expressing their concerns with how the bankruptcy is being handled, they refer to it as a manipulation of bankruptcy law.
The News 4 Tucson Investigators reached out to Corizon and Tehum Care Services but did not hear back. YesCare referred all questions to Corizon.
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