The family of Louis Jung Jr., who died from Diabetic Ketoacidosis while incarcerated inside a Philadelphia prison, is suing the city and its prison healthcare company, YesCare, for alleged wrongful death and medical neglect.
The Abolitionist Law Center (ALC) filed the suit Wednesday morning. It claims that “deliberate indifference” to Jung’s need for emergency medical care led to his preventable death inside the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF) on Nov. 6, 2023.
According to the suit, Jung was not provided insulin while suffering from high glucose levels, which has dire consequences for someone with Type 1 Diabetes.
“This is indefensible,” said ALC legal director Bret Grote. “We have every intention of prevailing against the defendants in this case and do not feel that there is a moral or legal defense to not providing a Type 1 diabetic patient with life-saving insulin.”
The suit alleges that correctional officers and YesCare staff failed to respond to Jung while in a medical emergency, that the Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP) and YesCare failed to adequately train and supervise officers and staff, and that PDP failed to implement effective policy to ensure adequate emergency medical care. It also claims that YesCare routinely provided insufficient healthcare to people with Type 1 Diabetes and violated standards of care set by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The named defendants include former prison commissioner Blanche Carney, YesCare’s former medical director Lalitha Trivikram, nurse Maureen Gay, who conducted Jung’s intake screening, and unnamed correctional officers.
“They just killed my father because no one can do their job right in the city,” said Jung’s son, Jacob Jung, in an interview. “They murdered him and they need to pay for what they've done.”
The city and YesCare both declined to comment on the lawsuit.
According to the ALC, at least three deaths inside Philadelphia prisons have been caused by Diabetic Ketoacidosis in the last 10 years: Frank SanLorenzo, 32, died in 2014 and Rashaan Chambers, 21, in 2021. At least 62 people have died while in PDP custody within the last five years, the ALC wrote in a press release.
Grote said the Diabetic Ketoacidosis deaths highlight some of the shortcomings of prison healthcare.
People with Type 1 Diabetes need individualized treatment plans and constant monitoring, he said, rather than a one size fits all approach. He added that prisons deprive individuals of the ability to care for themselves, leading to missed symptoms.
PDP facilities have a history of medical neglect, inhumane conditions, and understaffing. In a 2020 class action lawsuit, incarcerated individuals claimed they were “suffering from medical emergencies in their cells” and “not provided necessary medical care and treatment,” exacerbating their conditions and putting them at risk of illness, injury, and death. In August 2024, the city was found in contempt of court for violating the settlement agreements of the suit and ordered to address continued staffing shortages.
Since then, Mayor Cherelle Parker’s plans for Kensington have involved police sweeps and arrests for narcotics and outstanding warrants. On Sept. 5, 34 people were arrested in Kensington, including Amanda Cahill, who was arrested for drug possession and later died in jail after she allegedly spent “hours” calling for help.
On Oct. 28, 2023, Jung’s glucose level was recorded at 542 mg/dL — about 300 mg/dL over the level at which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends treatment and hospitalization. According to the suit, this should have resulted in Jung’s immediate transfer to the infirmary or an outside hospital and a test for Diabetic Ketoacidosis. Neither action allegedly occurred.
The suit claims that, despite knowing Jung was likely suffering from Diabetic Ketoacidosis on Oct. 28, prison staff failed to provide “the majority of his prescribed insulin” or regularly check his glucose levels over the next four days. Staff also allegedly did not document his glucose levels or insulin dosages when they were provided.
From Nov. 1 to Nov. 6, prison and healthcare staff allegedly did not administer any insulin or glucose checks. Officers failed to alert medical staff or provide emergency medical care despite the “obvious nature of Mr. Jung’s need for medical care,” the suit states, leading to his death.
Jung, 50, a South Philadelphia native, is survived by his three sons, Jacob, James, and Louis Jung III, and a grandchild.
His son Jacob, 23, of South Philadelphia, described his father as generous and a pillar of support for their family.
“Before he went to prison, I dropped out of college and moved to Philadelphia, and he's the one who helped me get a house. He helped me start my adult life,” Jacob said. “He helped me start my career, got me with the right connections, helped me put the house together. He took all the time out of his day just to make sure I was okay before he had to do what he had to do.”
Jacob added that “it’s hard to even think about what it was like in the prison, how someone could not get medicine like that.”
“It's like not getting food or not getting water,” Jacob said.
Jung’s ex-wife, Evelyn Tyson, 48, who now lives in Clayton, Del., and cares for their son with cerebral palsy, said Jung was a hard worker and “terrific provider” for his family and loved ones.
“If there was a sad situation or stressful situation, he was the one to turn around and make everybody laugh, somehow, some way he did it to uplift everyone,” Tyson said. “He would lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it; neighbors, family, friends.”
Tyson said Jung had always been able to manage his diabetes and had never been hospitalized for related conditions before his incarceration. Four days after being incarcerated in a city jail in December 2021, he was hospitalized for Diabetic Ketoacidosis and hyperglycemia “due to PDP’s failure to treat his diabetes,” the suit states. Jung was incarcerated until his death in 2023. From the start, PDP allegedly failed to develop a diabetes treatment plan, provide necessary insulin, and properly document Jung’s glucose levels and insulin dosages. He was hospitalized two more times for high glucose levels while in custody.
“We will grieve this forever. And hearing about how he died, that vision will be stuck in our head forever, and we will never be the same from it again,” Tyson said.
Attorney Grote described the prison system’s treatment of incarcerated individuals as a “very toxic culture of disregarding and not responding to people's needs.” He also criticized the use of state violence to address substance use disorder and poverty as “morally regressive” and said the city needs to reduce the jail population and implement triage systems to ensure those with serious chronic medical and psychiatric needs are not placed in institutions that cannot meet those needs.
Grote said the city’s prison conditions exposes a “lack of concern for public health and public safety,” adding that subjecting people to such conditions and releasing them back into the community does not contribute to public safety.
“These are institutions that traumatize people who are often already survivors of serious trauma,” he said.
Grote added that the discovery process for the lawsuit may help the family uncover more answers and find witnesses who can attest to what Jung experienced in the days before his death.
Tyson said she hopes the suit will prevent other families from suffering the same fate. She also hopes it will lead to reform in the city’s jails, improved staff training, and better care for individuals with Type 1 Diabetes and mental health conditions.
“Whoever is involved in this... how they can go home and lay their head down at night knowing what they've done, shame on them,” Tyson said.
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