Former police officer sues Charleston County Jail for medical negligence while in custody

CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) – A man serving a sentence in the Charleston County Jail has filed a lawsuit against the county and sheriff's office for negligence.

Former Moncks Corner police officer Zedrick Smalls claims the medical care he received while in prison ruined his life, court documents say.

Smalls was arrested in May 2021 and charged with several misdemeanors.

Due to his previous employment as a police officer, the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office transferred Smalls to protective custody at the Al Canon Detention Center in June 2021.

Smalls, who says he struggled with significant health problems while at the facility, is joining other defendants, including police officers and medical staff, in suing Wellpath LLC, one of the largest providers of medical care in prisons across the country.

The lawsuit alleges that Smalls first alerted staff to increasing pain and swelling in his leg in August 2021, court documents say.

The lawsuit alleges that Smalls did not receive timely medical care, which he says led to his diagnosis of several serious medical conditions in September 2021, including pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis.

Smalls argues that neglect by medical personnel and detention center staff led to his deteriorating health, which continued into 2022.

The defendants, including the Charleston County Sheriff's Office and Wellpath LLC, deny all allegations of wrongdoing and are seeking dismissal of the case. They have requested Smalls' deposition as part of the ongoing trial.

As of last year, Wellpath is no longer the medical provider for the Charleston County Jail.

VitaCore Health Strategies took over in July 2023, at which time Wellpath was facing three medical malpractice lawsuits in Charleston County.

Smalls is currently being held at the Turbeville Correctional Institution. The Charleston County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the lawsuit, and Wellpath did not respond to our request for comment.

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