ESSEX COUNTY SHERIFF SUED FOR DENYING ESSENTIAL TREATMENT FOR HEPATITIS C
For Immediate Release
April 23, 2025
Boston, MA – Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts (PLS) filed a federal class action lawsuit challenging the Essex County Sheriff’s refusal to provide medically necessary treatment to people in his custody with Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can cause liver failure, cancer, and death, as well as a host of other serious medical conditions including kidney disease, diabetes, and heart problems.
Although safe, effective, and widely available medications for Hepatitis C have existed for more than a decade, Sheriff Kevin Coppinger denies this treatment to nearly everyone in Essex jails. As a result, hundreds of people each year endure unnecessary suffering and potentially life-threatening health effects from a disease that is entirely treatable.
The lawsuit, Caron et al. v. Coppinger, filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, asserts that the Sheriff’s failure to provide Hepatitis C treatment violates his constitutional obligation to provide adequate medical care to people in his custody. The suit seeks a court order requiring timely treatment for all people with Hepatitis C in Essex jails, routine testing upon admission, and connection to community care upon release.
The development of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medication for Hepatitis C has revolutionized Hepatitis C treatment, offering a complete cure to over 95% of those who take it, with minimal side effects. These medications are now universally recognized as the standard of care for Hepatitis C, dramatically improving health outcomes and saving lives. In Massachusetts, MassHealth has designated DAAs as “medically necessary” for the treatment of Hepatitis C. Since 2016, all MassHealth subscribers with the virus have had a right to nearly unrestricted access to these vital medications.
Plaintiffs are currently incarcerated at the Middleton House of Correction. They have both sought Hepatitis C treatment from the jail for over a year but have been repeatedly denied because of the Sheriff’s policy of denying DAAs. The lawsuit alleges that many others in Essex custody have faced similar refusals of care for Hepatitis C.
Asked why he chose to participate in the lawsuit, plaintiff Adam Cochrane shared: “I want everyone to get treatment for Hep C and get healthy and be okay. I want people to have a chance to have a better life.”
“Despite the national medical consensus that nearly everyone with Hepatitis C should receive DAAs, people in Essex County custody are told to manage their disease with ‘self-care’ and ‘diet and lifestyle modifications,’” said PLS Attorney Rachel Talamo. “The Sheriff’s policies force people in his custody to endure progressive risk of permanent liver damage alongside their incarceration. This is not only inhumane and illegal, but also fueling a public health crisis.”
Massachusetts has identified eradication of Hepatitis C as a key public health priority. Hepatitis C wreaks havoc on jails and prisons, where it is up to 20 times as prevalent and roughly twice as deadly as in the general population. As nearly one third of people with Hepatitis C in the United States will spend at least part of their year incarcerated, and over 90% will eventually return to their communities, medical experts recognize correctional settings as key sites of treatment for the disease.
This lawsuit comes seven years after PLS secured a landmark settlement requiring the Massachusetts Department of Correction to provide DAA treatment to people with Hepatitis C incarcerated in state prisons. Similar class action lawsuits challenging the denial of Hepatitis C treatment in correctional facilities have been successful in other states including Missouri, Connecticut, and Vermont.
The case is Caron et al v. Coppinger (1:25-cv-11075-GAO).
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About Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts
Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts is a non-profit legal services organization founded in 1972 that provides civil legal assistance to people who are incarcerated in Massachusetts state prisons and county jails and houses of correction.
Contact:
Aaron Steinberg, Communications Director
asteinberg@plsma.org
(617) 482-2773