Case of Alleged Negligence Headed to Court

The settlement of a lawsuit alleging negligence on the part of the Oconee County Detention Center is on the February 26th docket of 10th Circuit Court Judge Scott Sprouse at the county courthouse in Walhalla.

Three years ago, suit was filed there in the case of Erica Smalley, representing the Estate of Ernest Lee Smalley, Jr. v. Southern Health Partners.

According to papers filed with the court, the plaintiff, who is seeking $5 million in damages from the jail’s healthcare provider, alleges that the defendants “did not follow proper procedure and … did not give him proper care and treatment…”

Mr. Smalley was being held in the Oconee County Detention Center on a bench warrant after his arrest on October 22, 2015. Court filings stated that he suffered from alcohol addiction and alleged that he “was not given…treatment for that illness.”