Hello all, not used to posting here, this time i am posting for
my nephew not my fiance, who is doing ok so far. my nephew is in Huntsville prison in Texas, my brother asked me to find out who can help, he is now in seg and has told my brother that he is recieving many drugs, that are making him very very sick, my sister who is a nurse looked up these drugs and many are phycotrofic harmful drugs which are very
dangerous drugs that can leave permenant damage, some are said to be experimental. my brother has no idea what to do or who to contact in regards to getting them to stop
administering these to him, there is no medical reasons for him to recieve them and my brother is so worried what they will do to him, he feels he does not have the time for all the paperwork needed for a release on medications given or to talk with someone there...any one that knows what he can do
please help.....asap thank you Merilee :pissed:

OMG! I wish I knew something about all that! I just wanted to say, good luck, and I'm sure someone can help. We have a handful of people from Texas. That's awful though, I'm so sorry. :(

omg Merilee. I don't know who you or your brother should contact in Texas. Someone will come along who knows. Your nephew has never been diagnosed with any mental illness that would necesitate the meds? Hang in there....

Deb

MERILEE I TOO AM SO SORRY FOR YOUR NEPHEW,I WILL PRAY AND I KNOW SOMEONE HERE CAN HELP YOU

merilee

First let me say that I am sorry to hear about your problem and hopefully it will be corrected soon....

You are dealing with (in my opinion) one of the most horible and frustrating types of problems that family, friends and loved ones face....medical crisis. It is important that you not loose control of your emotions...you will be no good in helping him if you do and will generally find the door quickly closed by DOC staff to help. It is ok to be concerned and to share your concerns...just try not to do it in such a way as to be agressive...and believe me, I know this is very hard.

You also have to understand that because you are dealing with the DOC (and I am sure you do understand)...they are not going to coorporate easily with you in your concerns. Because of this....it is critical that you maintain a log and completely document everything that takes place. Every phone call your make, the date/time and phone # you call. Who you spoke with and exactly what was said (or at least to the best of your rememering). You may also want to have a tape recorder by your side on record so it picks up what you say and thus, can help jar your memory later. I do not know the wiretaping laws in TX, so I am not sure if you can or cannot taperecord the actual phone call...but you can at least taperecord your own words by having the recorder on your lap or on a table near you. You might also consider having someone else on a separate extension or doing a three way call so you have an interactive witness to the actual call. (Read my thread in "Legal Help" titled "General Tips on Filing a Complaint").

The two main points I would focus on are (1) the experimental medications being used and (2) possible adverse reactions to the medications that may signify an emergency matter that needs to be checked out immdiately.

Generally, it has been my experience that DOC's do not allow offenders to take experimental medications because they are not test subjects approved by law to use such medications that have not been approved by the FDA for public use by prescriptions or over the counter. Therefore, if this is what is happening... it might be in direct violation of existing laws and thus, may give you and your Nephew some leverage to use to correct the matters. Keep in mind that those in the actual DOC administrative offices, such as the Executive Director may not be aware of the actions of staff in each individual facility. So you may want to alert them to the matters and the concerns existing.

You must also keep in mind that your Nephew must fill out an approved in-house consent to release information. If he does not...you are fighting an uphill battle and will likely go nowhere in getting information from the staff. Under the circumstances, you might want to call his case manager or the medical dept., to see if a consent form can be taken to him to sign. I would however down play your reasons for wanting this...so as not to alarm them of the possiblity that legal actions may be in the making here.

Next...If he feels that his life is in danger because of the medications he is taking and the possible side effects he is experiencing...he MUST tell someone there IMMEDIATELY and keep telling them over and over again. And it must be documented who he told, when and what what were the responses.

The Patient Liaison Family/Public Hotline number for the TX DOC is 936-437-4271. I would call them, but not only them, to discuss the matters and see what can be done to correct the problems immediately.

Finely, you might also want to contact some attorneys in the local area and explain that you have what appears to be an immeidiate potential medical emergency here that requires legal intervention to safeguard the life of an offender. Give them the details in a short and concise manner and see if they are willing to help.

Start here and lets see what takes place and go from there. Please keep us posted. Stay on their butts every day until the problem is corrected, but try to be calm and avoid being aggressive.

Chris

bless your heart, please know that your in my prayers. :)

Great advice Chris. I would like to add one more thing from experience. my brother-n-law who is a diabetic was having problems about receiving his insulin shots. He said they wern't giving them to him and he begged me to help. I called the infirmary, was told he needed to sign a consent form, like you said. So, I sent him a letter told him what to do. He sent me back a letter saying he did it. So, I called again, they said he NEVER signed anything and still wouldn't release any information. They also said that there are two sides to a story, they couldn't force him to his shots if he didn't want it.

So, with further research, I got a Power of Attorney (POA) that covered what I needed, to include access to his medical records, prison records, whatever you want it to be. I sent it to him to sign and have notorized, he sent it back, file it with your local court house and get several certified copies and send one to his warden, the medical facility, TDCJ head office, whever you want them to know you have access.

Now, about the POA, with my fiance, I did this too and when he had the notary public come down to sign it, this guy did it all wrong. When I went to the court house to file it, the lady there said that what he did every notary public know NOT to do. I sent one back with better detail of how to fill it out so it got done right. When you send the POA to him, send it certified so you get receipt back that it was delivered. Also mark on the envelope LEGAL PAPERS. I was told (and I'm not sure if it is everywhere) but I was told that the mailroom has to log in every legal paper that comes through so there is a record so they can't say "it got lost in the mail". Have him do the same back to you.

This lets the unit know that this person isn't alone and people are watching. They will back off. Once you get that POA, start calling and start yelling and let everyone know that YOU know what is going on.

If you would like a copy of the POA I used, PM me with you e-mail addy and I will send it to you.

Hope this also helps.

Joy

One more thought... probably the most common issue is inmates NOT getting meds they feel they do need.... but in this case he is being given meds he doesn't want.... he DOES ALWAYS have the right to refuse to take the medications.....