FAYETTEVILLE -- A bad tooth and a 30-day sentence has led to a federal lawsuit claiming Benton County Jail personnel didn't provide adequate medical care to a detainee.
The lawsuit was filed in May and names Benton County, several unidentified deputies and Sheriff Kelley Cradduck.
Attorneys for Cradduck and the county filed an answer Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville generally denying any allegations of wrongdoing. They also claim immunity from the lawsuit.
Ashley Ober, a Washington County resident, was sentenced to jail in May 2012 on a contempt of court citation after not filing documents as directed, according to the lawsuit. After reporting to jail May 24, 2012, Ober claims she began to have intense tooth pain and facial swelling from a suspected abscessed tooth.
Ober claims she followed jail protocol to get medical care.
"In addition to verbal requests for help, the plaintiff had obvious, visible swelling of her jaw and red streaks developed from her jaw down her neck," according to the lawsuit. "Jail personnel took no action to treat the plaintiff."
By May 29, Ober couldn't eat and submitted another request for medical care. The jail doctor saw Ober the next day and ordered antibiotics and pain medication.
Ober claims she was moved the next day to a jail pod housing convicted felons so she could be monitored while being given narcotic pain medicine. That afternoon, Ober says she appeared multiple times for her medications and wasn't given pain medicine or antibiotics until late in the afternoon after her attorney intervened with jailers.
On June 4, 2012, a judge granted a request from Ober's attorney to release her because she wasn't receiving the necessary medical care.
"Throughout this ordeal, the plaintiff did not cause any disciplinary problems. Plaintiff followed jail protocol to gain treatment for a serious and excruciating medical condition," according to the lawsuit. "By sharp contrast, the defendants displayed a uniformly callous and indifferent attitude, not only toward the plaintiff but also toward their duties under the constitutions and statutes of the United States and the State of Arkansas."
Ober is claiming cruel and unusual punishment, outrage and violations of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act. She seeks actual and punitive damages to be determined at trial.
NW News on 07/08/2015