Lax medical care forced Darlington County Detention Center inmate to needlessly suffer, lawsuit says
DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A former Darlington County Detention Center inmate needlessly suffered because of lax medical care and poor communication between staff, doctors and a health care contractor, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
The Feb. 29 complaint lodged in Darlington County Common Pleas Court seeks unspecified financial damages for Michael Barr.
“As a direct result of the Defendants negligent/grossly negligent conduct, the Plaintiff Barr has needlessly suffered both physical and mentally. Further, the Plaintiff Barr required additional medical services and has incurred additional bills/expenses for such treatment,” the suit states.
It names the Darlington County, the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office, Darlington County Detention Center, Hartsville Medical Enrichment Services and Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center as defendants, along with four doctors who examined Barr.
On the morning of July 5, 2022, Barr was brought to the Carolina Pines Medical Center ER for complaints of generalized weakness and muscle numbness over the prior three months. Barr told a physician recently been admitted to Three Rivers Behavioral Health for depression and that they had taken him off all his medications.
A short time later, Barr left the hospital but got into an altercation with a hospital security guard and was arrested. He was then sent back to Carolina Pines for evaluation and was seen by the same doctor before being sent back into police custody.
Barr was released from jail on July 6 when he stole an ambulance and drove it to a relative’s house, according to the lawsuit. Police apprehended him a short time later.
Barr initially told authorities that Jesus told him to take the vehicle so he could save an unknown little girl.
Barr then visited the Carolina Pines doctor for a third time in less than 24 hours — this time as a psychiatric emergency after he reported anxiety, hallucinations and feelings of delusion.
A different Carolina Pines doctor took over Barr’s care on July 7 and updated the initial report, saying Barr denied being suicidal, homicidal or delusional — without once being evaluted by a mental health expert.
“This conscious failure to have Barr assessed and/or properly examined by a mental health professional and/or psychiatrist was a gross deviation from the acceptable standard of medical care,” the lawsuit states.
Over the next week, Barr showed signs of dehydration, slurred speech and loss of motor skills as a Darlington County Detention Center inmate.
Barr was found lying naked on the floor of his cell on July 13, 2022.
“At this time, the plaintiff Barr’s condition had deteriorated to the point where it should have been obvious (even to a lay person) that he need to be sent immediately to the nearest hospital for examination and treatment,” the lawsuit claims.
Two days later, Barr was eventually removed from his cell where a caretaker noticed he hadn’t had eaten for at least 48 hours.
On July 15, he was transferred to MUSC-Florence for “numerous serious medical conditions” including severe dehydration, acute kidney failure, low blood platelet levels, and a head injury.
Barr began having seizures that affected his right extremities and had brain surgery on July 18
Barr was discharged from MUSC on July 26 and sent to a Lake City rehabilitation clinic in September 2022.
“It is more likely than not that had Barr been comprehensively examined .. or sent to a hospital in a timely way, there would likely have been a full and complete medical and mental health examination performed, and more appropriate treatment plans in place, the lawsuit says.
Had this occurred, .. treatment could have been rendered and his overall outcome would have been much better.”
* * *
Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.
