EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — A South Lake Tahoe mother says her son would still be alive today if medical staff at the El Dorado County Jail gave him his HIV medicine.
The family is now suing El Dorado County and Wellpath Community Care, a contracted health care service provider. Lesley Overfield, the inmates mother, and her attorney allege the two parties withheld her son Nicholas Overfield's medication for months.
"I'm really angry. I think there's some accountability that has to show up here. That you have to take care of the inmates when they're there. You have to listen to them," said Lesley.
Lesley is trying to understand why her son was allegedly never given his HIV medication while at the El Dorado County Jail in Placerville.
Nicholas was arrested at home in February 2022 for failure to appear in court. The underlying case is still unclear.
His mother says she told officers he was HIV positive and gave them his medication.
But she noticed something different in her son during a jail visit weeks later.
"You can imagine my shock when they wheeled him in, in a wheelchair. He couldn't walk, he couldn't speak. They had to lift him off the wheel and put him in the visitor's area," said Lesley.
The 38-year-old father of two died of a viral infection about two months later.
Lesley's attorney Ty Clarke says the death certificate shows he contracted AIDS two months before his death.
"I believe that Nick was killed by the inadequate medical care of Wellpath and El Dorado County. He died of what's called encephalitis. That's an AIDS-defining condition. There are certain conditions where if someone contracts them, as an HIV positive individual, they're considered to have full-blown AIDS," said Clarke, a Civil Rights Attorney with Pointer and Buelna LLP.
ABC10 reached out to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office who says they did not have a statement. Wellpath did not respond to ABC10's multiple emails for comment.
"We want from El Dorado county and Wellpath two things: The first is injunctive relief. We need changes in their policies for how they're providing medical care in jail. Because that's not really medical care at all as Nick's case illustrates. They also need to pay for what they've done. They need to take accountability," said Clarke.
Clarke says they violated the law and they need to pay Nick's two surviving sons and Lesley. She hopes the lawsuit will give some accountability to all jails.
"He loved Tahoe. He loved to go out, he took the boys fishing. He was only 38 and he had so much more to give and do with his life. And it's so sad that he's not here with us," said Lesley.
The attorney says they are in the process of trying to negotiate an agreement.
They are prepared to take it to trial if necessary.
View the entire lawsuit here:
