YORK, PA - The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP) filed a federal civil rights complaint against York County and its former medical provider, PrimeCare Medical, Inc., alleging that systemic failures led an incarcerated man, Willie Cunningham, to suffer life-threatening sepsis and permanent internal damage after nursing staff ignored his severe appendicitis symptoms for four days.
The complaint details how Mr. Cunningham was brought to the York County Prison medical department four times seeking emergency care, but the nurses repeatedly failed to examine him or even take his vital signs. On his fifth urgent attempt to obtain medical care, the staff finally sent him to the hospital. By that time, his appendix had already ruptured.
The delayed treatment resulted in catastrophic complications, including two large abscesses in his abdomen, gangrene, peritonitis (inflammation of the abdominal lining), and sepsis with acute kidney failure. Mr. Cunningham spent one month hospitalized, followed by an additional three months convalescing. He is now left with permanent internal and external scarring, ongoing gastrointestinal issues, and the debilitating aftereffects of sepsis.
The lawsuit alleges that the substandard medical care Mr. Cunningham received is not an isolated incident but the direct result of York County and PrimeCare Medical’s longstanding practice of ignoring and dismissing the serious medical needs of incarcerated people. Specifically, the complaint points to the defendants’ practice of maintaining false and incomplete medical records, and their failure to establish proper protocols, adequately train, and properly supervise their medical employees.
"I almost died," said Mr. Cunningham. “I felt like the medical staff at York County Prison didn’t care whether I died or not. I filed this lawsuit because I want to try to get better medical care for people in jail. Nobody should have to fear dying in jail for a treatable medical problem.”
The complaint includes claims under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for the deprivation of adequate medical care, as well as a state law claim for professional negligence.
"York County Prison and PrimeCare Medical were shockingly callous in their indifference to Mr. Cunningham’s life and health," said Evangeline Wright, Staff Attorney with the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project. "This case is about more than just the errors of three nurses. It exposes a systemic failure by York County and PrimeCare to provide adequate, humane medical care, prioritizing cost and convenience over the lives of the people in their custody."
Mr. Cunningham is represented by Evangeline Wright of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project in the case Cunningham v. York County, 3:25-cv-02163, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Read a full copy of the complaint at https://pilp.org/cases.
The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP) protects and advances the constitutional and civil rights of people incarcerated in Pennsylvania through litigation, advocacy, and legal advice.