By Kelly McKinney/Richmond In-Depth
A federal judge has denied a move to dismiss a lawsuit against the Madison County Detention Center and former jailer Steve Tussey.
The suit, filed in October 2024 by former MCDC inmate Valentine Frymyer, claims the jail denied her methadone treatment for her opioid use disorder, leading to a stillborn birth.
Frymyer, now 30, began experiencing withdrawal from methadone, strong uterine contractions, vaginal fluid leakage and decreased fetal movement after entering the jail in October 2023, according to the lawsuit.
Five days into her incarceration, Frymyer was taken to the hospital. Doctors were unable to detect a heartbeat for the baby, and Frymyer delivered a deceased female infant, the suit states.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, claims the jail’s failure to provide her prescribed methadone pushed her into early labor and caused the baby’s death. Medical guidelines state that methadone treatment should not be stopped abruptly, particularly in pregnant women.
MCDC and Tussey filed motions in February and April to dismiss the case, claiming they were not property served notice of the suit. Frymyer sent Tussey’s and MCDC’s summonses in December 2024 by certified mail, and both were signed for by Sherry McIntosh, an MCDC employee. Rules regarding service state that service can be done by certified mail, but that the summons must be delivered to the defendant.
Judge Danny C. Reeves ruled against the motion in May, finding that an extension of time for service was warranted. The court determined that a dismissal would be highly prejudicial to Frymyer because she would be unable to refile due to the statute of limitations. The court also said that both Tussey and Madison County Judge-Executive Reagan Taylor likely had actual notice of the lawsuit.
“The County defendants’ argument that this did not provide notice to ‘Madison County—the real party in interest with respect to the official-capacity claims against Jailer Tussey’—is unconvincing,” the order from the court reads. “Tussey was still jailer at that time and surely MCDC has some procedure in place for notifying the County of claims against its officials in their official capacity.”
Frymyer was given 30 days from the date of the ruling to serve the summons. Court records show that Taylor and Tussey were both served in June.
Tussey and MCDC filed a new motion to dismiss in June, with claims including that the county and Tussey are not liable because Frymyer hasn’t shown that her injuries resulted from a policy or custom at the jail.
Frymyer’s suit alleges the withholding of methadone treatment was “in furtherance of, and consistent with, one or more policies or practices.”
That motion has yet to be ruled on.
In April 2024, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a letter to correctional facilities regarding treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.
“We are writing today to remind our local correctional facilities of the federal requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” the letter reads in part. “Specifically, under the ADA, correctional facilities cannot deny healthcare services, including lawfully prescribed medication, to individuals based upon the type of medication prescribed. This includes buprenorphine (Suboxone), naltrexone, or methadone, which are used to treat Opioid Use Disorder (“OUD”).
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