Georgia man says Fulton County Jail medical neglect led to amputations
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A Georgia man said Wednesday that he was traumatized after experiencing serious medical negligence at an Atlanta prison, marred by allegations of unsanitary conditions that led to the amputation of his fingers and lower legs.
According to his attorneys, Rashaad Muhammad was arrested in August and booked into the Fulton County Jail; where medical staff failed to provide him with the antibiotics and other medical supplies he repeatedly said he needed.
Less than two weeks later, his condition deteriorated so much that he could no longer stand and was taken to hospital, where he was eventually told amputations were necessary to save his life.
“I’m not well. Every day is a battle. It’s a struggle,” Muhammad, who now uses a wheelchair, said at a press conference outside the jail after meeting with Sheriff Pat Labat.
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Rashaad Muhammad, flanked by his attorney Ben Crump, other members of his legal team and supporters, speaks at a news conference outside the Fulton County Jail. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback)
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented Muhammad, said the meeting with the sheriff at the jail “was like coming back to a nightmare you pray for every day,” adding that Muhammad’s treatment was “the very definition of willful indifference” and violated his constitutional rights.
The Fulton County Jail has faced numerous problems over the years, leading the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a civil rights investigation into jail conditions in 2023. The investigation found that inmates were housed in filthy and unsafe conditions that violated their constitutional rights.
The Department of Justice and county officials announced a year ago that they had obtained a court-enforceable consent decree. An independent monitor visits the county’s prisons and records problems and progress in resolving them.
Crump argued that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners bears significant responsibility for what happened to Muhammad because its members were made aware of the problems but failed to act.
He suggested the county needed a new jail, a move the sheriff supported.
Earlier this month, commissioners voted to borrow up to $1.3 billion for prison improvements, including a new purpose-built facility and renovations to the existing main prison.
Crump also blamed the prison’s medical provider, NaphCare, alleging that its employees and guards ignored Muhammad’s calls for help.
Rashaad Muhammad rests his hands with cut fingers in his lap at a news conference outside the Fulton County Jail. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback)
He said NaphCare should not provide medical services at the prison after another man held at the facility died in a bedbug-infested cell in 2022.
Muhammad said his meeting with the sheriff was “productive” but “not sufficient.”
Crump said he and his client want a criminal investigation into the events that led to the amputations.
Crump said Muhammad’s legal team is gathering details and exploring “every possible legal remedy” to get justice for Muhammad and hold those responsible accountable.
One of his lawyers, Liza Park, said that he uses a catheter because of a chronic bladder condition that makes him highly susceptible to infection, and that he always brings the necessary antibiotics and other medical supplies with him.
Muhammad was in jail for the Aug. 11 shooting. According to Park, he called 911, but when police arrived they arrested him on aggravated assault and weapons possession charges. Park said that while he was being detained, he told officers that he needed antibiotics and medical supplies that were in his car.
He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was cleared to be taken to jail, his attorneys said. He repeatedly told medical staff at the prison that he needed antibiotics and other medical supplies. As his condition worsened, other inmates asked prison and medical staff to help him.
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Attorney Ben Crump (left) speaks with his client Rashaad Muhammad at a news conference outside the Fulton County Jail. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback)
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Muhammad was in “serious medical distress” when he was hospitalized again on Aug. 22, according to Crump.
After waking up from a coma a few weeks later, Muhammad’s hands and legs were so infected that doctors told him his fingers and lower legs would have to be amputated, which he said was “a matter of life rather than limbs,” Crump said.
Mohammed remained in the hospital for months and underwent many surgeries.
Park said the charges against him were dropped while he was in the hospital.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
