Inmates lose appeal in beef with county jail

By Scott E. Williams

The Daily News

Published February 6, 2008

GALVESTON — Texas' 1st Court of Appeals has effectively ended a lawsuit that started about claims of bad beef at the county jail.

More than 120 inmates sued the county in December 2005, claiming that the facility had fed them tainted meat in taco lunches served at the jail on March 27, 2004.

Judge John Ellisor of the 122nd State District Court had tossed out the lawsuit, granting a request for summary judgment from both the county and ABL, the vendor that provided food to the facility.

In seeking to have the case dropped, ABL obtained testimony from Dr. Mark Guidry, head of the Galveston County Health District. Guidry testified that "no medical authority could determine the cause of" illness for inmates who reported being sick after the meal was served.

In their appeal, the inmates argued that the dismissal was "based on no evidence." However, the appeals court overruled the appeal.

Jail records showed that at least a dozen of the original plaintiffs were not in the jail on the day the tacos were on the menu.

The prisoners in the suit claimed they suffered salmonella infection, fevers and liver damage. The lawsuit also sought compensation for prisoners' "future mental anguish and emotional trauma, including fear of cancer."

For the four days before the tacos were served, the jail's medical clinic saw an average of 52 patients a day. During the three-day period that started with March 27, 2004, the clinic saw an average of 54 patients a day, a difference of 3.7 percent.

http://galvestondai lynews.com/ story.lasso? ewcd=835a9a659dd a2eb6