Lawsuit alleges Mecklenburg County inmate had toes amputated after jail’s medical neglect

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A new federal lawsuit alleges that an inmate at the Mecklenburg County detention center had several toes amputated after failing to receive proper medical care during a 13-day stay at the jail in 2024.

The lawsuit alleges a custom of deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, particularly in cases like Mr. Hannon’s, who suffered from complex conditions already.

The court record also identifies itself as “at least” the eighth civil complaint brought specifically for substandard medical care at the detention center while under Sheriff Garry McFadden’s leadership.

In a statement, McFadden said he cannot address specific allegations in the pending litigation, but that they take their responsibility for the health and safety of jail residents seriously.

“We recognize that people enter our detention facility with a range of medical needs, including preexisting conditions. Our staff work to identify and accommodate those needs and coordinate appropriate medical care,” McFadden said in an emailed statement.

Lawsuit: Inmate warned staff he had existing condition

Aaron Hannon was arrested on April 17, 2024, for charges that were ultimately dropped after it was deemed he was protecting a family member, the lawsuit said. Hannon had a long history of complex medical conditions including heart disease and diabetes.

The lawsuit said he was disabled and had lived with a condition stemming from his diabetes for years that put him at heightened risk of amputation for any wounds on his legs and feet.

He had no wounds when he entered the jail, and was accustomed to monitoring his feet daily for any issues.

Hannon explained his conditions to medical staff at the jail during his admission, including his heightened risk for foot infections.

Despite that, the lawsuit said that staff wrote that he did not need accommodations for medical conditions, and ended up issuing him flip flops that were several inches too small for his feet.

Staff told Hannon that larger flip flops weren’t available, the lawsuit said.

Lawsuit: Health deteriorated rapidly amid loss of medications, wounds developing on feet

Hannon almost immediately ran into issues accessing his normal medications, the lawsuit stated, and numerous attempts to get larger shoes to protect his feet from the jail floor went unheeded from medical staff.

Within days, Hannon developed open wounds on his feet that the lawsuit alleges were not properly treated and given substandard care – or, many times, no care at all.

“The standard of care with respect to a diabetic patient with an infected diabetic foot wound requires aggressive wound care and proper and effective antibiotic therapy,” the lawsuit said.

For days, the wounds worsened while he was not provided proper medical care or given larger shoes to accommodate his worsening condition, the lawsuit said. When he asked to be transported to a hospital, the lawsuit states that staff repeatedly refused.

Days into the ordeal, the lawsuit said, “he was suffering from peeling, bleeding, malodorous, inflamed flesh and infected wounds upon his skin that were oozing blood and green pus,” yet one staff member documented his health as “normal.”

Hannon was jailed for 13 days, the lawsuit said, before his release on April 30. At no point was he issued proper footwear or given the correct care for his worsening condition, according to the lawsuit, and missed 45 doses of his normal medications.

Within hours of being released, Hannon went to the Atrium Mercy Emergency Department.

There, records say he was told his infections were advanced and his condition was extremely serious, and he was prescribed a course of aggressive antibiotics.

The medications weren’t effective, the lawsuit said, and ultimately doctors had to amputate several of his toes.

Numerous previous lawsuits allege medical indifference in jail deaths

WBTV has reported on numerous federal lawsuits, some of which have since been settled, alleging “deliberate indifference” in medical care or failures to properly monitor inmates while in custody at the Mecklenburg County jail.

Most recently, WBTV obtained video showing staff took at least 70 minutes to give aid to a man dying from an overdose. The family of that inmate is also suing the sheriff and other jail staff.