Marion County sheriff, contractor forced drug injections on mentally ill woman, suit says

Adilah Patton often went to hospitals to seek shelter, only to be turned away and, if she didn't leave, arrested. When she was released from jail, she'd often head back to hospitals ― frequently landing back behind bars and accumulating more than 30 arrests for trespassing.

It's a cycle the Indianapolis woman dealing with a serious mental illness and has no permanent home struggled to break for several years.

After her most recent trespassing arrest in 2022, jailers in the Marion County Adult Detention Center held Patton down while a nurse injected her with an antipsychotic drug. A federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges the sheriff's office and its healthcare contractor violated the 28-year-old woman's constitutional rights by injecting her with drugs on multiple occasions against her will and without permission from her court-appointed guardian.

During one of the incidents, Patton's hand was injured after a "cell extraction response team" held her down while a nurse injected her, the lawsuit says. Court records describe Patton as 5'4" and 110 pounds.

"Under the current system, the onus is placed upon the inmate to request for their own healthcare," said Mollie Golden, legal director for the Center for At-Risk Elders or CARE, a nonprofit advocacy center and Patton's court-appointed guardian.

"But what happens if that person doesn't understand or cannot make that request for themselves? That's what happened in this case."

The lawsuit alleges sheriff's office and its healthcare contractor knew or should have known that Patton had a guardian authorized to consent to any medical care on her behalf. But, the lawsuit alleges, no one checked the guardian registry before injecting Patton with drugs.

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The case was filed by CARE against Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal; Wellpath LLC., a Tennessee-based for-profit healthcare provider that contracts with jails and prisons; and Theresa Wischmeyer, a registered nurse employed by Wellpath at the Marion County facility.

Wellpath did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Marion County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation.

"However," the agency said, "the public is reminded that there are two sides to every story, and that ultimately it will be a judge and jury that will likely resolve the litigation. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office believes that no proper public purpose can be served by attempts to litigate the lawsuit in the media."

Forestal filed a court petition seeking a legal guardian for Patton after she was arrested in 2021. On March 9, 2022, the court found her to be “unable to make health care decisions for herself.” The same day, CARE was appointed to serve as her permanent guardian.

Patton, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was jailed again on May 13, 2022, on a trespassing charge. It was at least her 32nd trespassing arrest since 2015. Three days later, Wischmeyer injected her with Invega Sustenna, an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia, without her or CARE's consent, the lawsuit says.

While at the jail, the lawsuit says it was unclear to CARE if Patton was receiving medical care. On June 3, the guardian filed a request to transfer her to a diagnostic and treatment center because of concerns about healthcare provided at the detention center.

A second request to transfer Patton to Eskenazi was filed on June 16 and approved by the court the following day.That night, Patton was given another unauthorized injection of the antipsychotic drug. The lawsuit says a team of jailers held her down during the injection, dislocating her thumb.

The following day, Patton was transferred to Ezkenazi, where the lawsuit says her hand was treated in the emergency room and she was found to have "no acute intervenable psychiatric condition." She was sent back to the detention center the same day.

CARE first became aware that Patton had been given forced medications after she was taken to Eskenazi, said Golden, the nonprofit's legal director. Golden said she learned from a nurse that Patton had been injected with drugs on the eve of her Eskenazi visit and found out after requesting records that it had happened multiple times.

Patton was given another unauthorized injection on June 24. This time, she was injected with Depo-Medrol, an anti-inflammatory drug.

The medications were provided with no assessments if the injections were in her medical interest, according to the lawsuit, and no prescription from an overseeing physician, no panel review of the care, and no chance for her or the guardian to argue the injections were not needed.

"Everyone in this country has a right to informed consent in their healthcare, and a guardian is one of the tools that is used to ensure that right once a person has been deemed legally incapacitated," Golden said. "Incarceration does not mean that a guardian's job is done. There are many healthcare needs for detainees that become the responsibility of the sheriff's office to manage, and as a guardian, it's our job to advocate for those under our protection."

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Jails are not equipped to house those with mental health issues, Golden said, but they've often become the repository of people who need real care.

"This is absolutely a part of a greater problem," Golden said. "There is very little housing outside of the jail or a nursing home for anybody with mental health issues. And if you don't meet the standards needed to be able to be in a nursing home, you're left to be homeless essentially."

Patton, who was 26 when she was last arrested, is too young to be placed in a nursing home. Golden said she has family members, but none who are providing her with any support. Over the years, she cycled through the jail and healthcare facilities, often turning up at Eskenazi or other hospitals to seek shelter only to be turned away and arrested for trespassing, Golden said.

"She was going there as a safe place but continued to pick up these trespasses because of her inability to communicate her needs," Golden said.

Two years ago, Patton gave birth to a baby boy ― the result of a rape while living in the streets, Golden said. The boy has been placed with relatives.

Golden said it's "safe to say" that the three known forced medications of Patton are not an isolated incident, and Patton is likely not alone.

The lawsuit claims violation of federal due process to refuse treatment or for informed consent, as well as state law violations of negligence, assault, battery, use of excessive force and medical malpractice.

Patton’s guardian is seeking a jury trial and compensatory damages including pain and suffering, punitive damages under 14th Amendment claims, and attorney fees.

Patton is now at a state hospital, Golden said, although the goal is to ultimately find a permanent housing for her.

Contact IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at kphillips@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Marion County sheriff, Wellpath accused of forced injections on inmate