A former Oregon inmate has sued the Oregon Department of Corrections, alleging that the agency’s delays in treating a fractured middle finger that needed surgery left it permanently damaged.  Benjamin K. Vesa’s lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Corrections, filed in October in Marion County Circuit Court, alleges he faced negligent medical care and delays in receiving a surgery while incarcerated at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem.  The lawsuit’s allegations offer a window into the winding path that people in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections navigate to receive medical care, especially when it requires consultation with outside surgeons and specialists. The issue crops up throughout the system:  Earlier this year, an outside accrediting agency found a backlog of nearly 600 appointments at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon’s only women’s prison.  “We understand that health care in a correctional setting comes with unique challenges, including complex health needs, resource limitations and staffing demands,” Amber Campbell, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Corrections, said in an email. “While we cannot comment on specific details of the pending litigation, we remain committed to addressing any gaps in care that may arise and to upholding our obligations to those in our custody.” Campbell said the women’s prison had its medical accreditation restored in August after the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, a voluntary accrediting organization, put Coffee Creek Correctional Facility on probation in February.  Months of waiting for surgery  In October 2022, Vesa went to the penitentiary’s infirmary with pain in his right hand. After an X-ray, medical staff diagnosed him with a dislocated finger and splinted it, with plans for more care to reset it, the lawsuit said.  The next day, the prison took Vesa to Salem Hospital’s emergency department. More X-rays found a fracture, and a doctor recommended he consult with a reconstructive surgery specialist and follow up because staff were worried that putting the finger back into the socket would worsen the break, the lawsuit said.  The doctor prescribed two pain medications, though prison medical staff said he could not receive one of them due to the “hassle” of getting board approval to provide it, the lawsuit said. The Salem hospital also recommended an outside orthopedic doctor to the prison. The lawsuit seeks $2.5 million in damages, including future medical care and the loss of potential income.  By early December, Vesa’s middle finger was still out of its socket and he experienced “severe pain daily” while he waited for his follow-up appointment, the lawsuit said. Vesa was worried as his condition was untreated for an extended period of time and he pressed the prison staff multiple times for help, the lawsuit said. “Plaintiff reiterated that he was told by multiple OSP medical providers that his treatment needed to be completed within two weeks to prevent permanent damage,” said the lawsuit. “OSP staff responded that ‘everything is done on our end’ and that they were waiting for the outside clinic to schedule the appointment.” Vesa’s family also reached out to outside clinics that the prison claimed to be waiting for a response from, and they found out the prison had failed to schedule an appointment, the lawsuit said.  In February 2023, after a four-month wait, Vesa got an appointment and the doctor found no range of motion in his middle finger and limited motion in two other fingers. The outside doctor also recommended surgery to resolve the problem, the lawsuit said. That same month, Vesa filed a grievance with the prison demanding the surgery and physical therapy, the lawsuit said. After he received surgery in March 2023, problems persisted in receiving adequate therapy, the lawsuit said.  An outside hand therapy provider told Vesa the clinic was unable to examine sooner because of difficulty contacting the prison nurse, the lawsuit said. At the prison, medical staff refused to change his dressings, which had drainage from incision, the lawsuit said. As a result, an outside doctor instructed the prison to change the dressings every day. Vesa also alleges he did not get the follow-up care and therapy he needed to properly restore his finger’s range of motion.  When he was released from prison in August 2023, he went back to the same doctor for care, but by then, he was still almost completely unable to move his finger, the lawsuit said.  The doctor told him the lack of timely medical care was the reason and even with more surgery, he was unlikely to ever regain full functionality in his finger, the lawsuit said. Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter. STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected]. 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