Burts v. Jefferson County Jail Infirmary Unit et al

On April 7, 2026, Marcus Burts, a 34-year-old pretrial detainee at Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Alabama, suffered a severe diabetic emergency, including diabetic ketoacidosis, while in the custody of the jail infirmary unit. Despite exhibiting extreme symptoms and repeated pleas for emergency intervention, infirmary staff employed by Corizon Health allegedly delayed transferring him to a hospital for over 48 hours. As a result, Burts fell into a coma and suffered permanent brain damage. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, alleges that the infirmary unit, Sheriff Mark Pettway, and Corizon Health demonstrated deliberate indifference to a serious medical need, violating the Fourteenth Amendment. The complaint cites systemic understaffing and chronic failures in the jail's medical screening protocols.

On September 14, 2026, Judge Annemarie Carney Axon denied the defendants' motion to dismiss, ruling that the allegations sufficiently stated a claim for deliberate indifference. The parties entered court-ordered mediation in early 2027, and a settlement was reached in April 2027, with Jefferson County and Corizon Health agreeing to a $4.75 million payout and mandated reforms to medical intake procedures.

The central dispute is whether the 48-hour delay in providing emergency medical treatment constituted deliberate indifference to a serious medical need, thus violating the Fourteenth Amendment, and whether the private contractor Corizon Health can be held liable under a Monell claim for maintaining unconstitutional policies or customs.

The case intensified national scrutiny of privatized prison healthcare and prompted a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the medical conditions at Jefferson County Jail. It became a significant catalyst for advocacy groups demanding legislative oversight of correctional medical contractors and led to the introduction of the Alabama Inmate Healthcare Transparency Act in the state legislature.