Nashville Jail Scabies Outbreak Spreads; Lawsuit Filed

NASHVILLE, TN — All inmates and staff at a privately-run Nashville detention facility are now being treated for scabies as an outbreak that began among female inmates has now spread throughout the jail. A Nashville attorney — whose wife is a General Sessions judge — has filed a lawsuit which he hopes to get certified as a class action against the contractor that runs the jail, CoreCivic — formerly Correction Corporation of America.

Metro Health officials confirmed two cases of the itchy, mite-borne disease among male inmates and informed CoreCivic that everyone who works or is held at the 1,300-bed Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility on Harding Place needs to receive treatment. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

The disease — caused by the parasitic human itch mite — had already spread out of the jail and into the courts, with cases reported among attorneys and courthouse staff.

Attorney Gary Blackburn, who is married to General Sessions Judge Melissa Blackburn, filed a lawsuit on behalf of some of the infected people and will seek compensatory and punitive damages.

“When this happens, it’s highly contagious. So people have to be quarantined,” Blackburn told WKRN. “One of my clients missed his daughter’s rehearsal dinner because of it. It can cause you to miss time from work.”

A CoreCivic spokesperson told the station complaints about the company's lack of transparency — including from Judge Blackburn, who said the company's "failure to act" endangered Metro employees and others — miss the mark, as CoreCivic has been engaged with the sheriff's department and health department from the beginning of the outbreak.

Image via Centers for Disease Control & Prevention