Mother claims she was denied medication, suing health contractor with jail

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - A federal civil lawsuit is underway after a mother says she was denied her medication during the 24 hours she spent in the El Paso County Jail.

Amanda Fowler was seven months pregnant, and now, she's suing the jail's health contractor, VitalCore Health Strategies, for negligence.

Fowler lives with Addison's Disease and her body does not produce cortisol. Without taking a dose of her medication at the proper time, she can die.

"I will get into an Addison's crisis, and your organs start to shut down. And that's how you pass away, essentially," says Fowler.

That's why Fowler was sure to bring court documents and her medication with her when checking into the jail, speaking to everyone about her condition.

However, in court documents, Fowler claims she never received her medication, and it began affecting her baby.

"Being seven and a half months pregnant puts another layer on it, because it's not just about me. Every hour that went by that I couldn't feel him move. It was very it was hard because you can't do anything. And I felt very helpless," says Fowler.

As a result, Fowler says she became sicker. "By the time that I got my medication, by the time I got help and went to the hospital, it was too late, and I developed diabetes."

And her lawsuit claims her son was born three weeks early.

"Because of all of the complications that ensued after that. My body was just very weak. And it was so hard to even get him to 37 weeks," says Fowler.

These complications resulted in over $300,000 in medical bills.

Still, she says her son Rowland is healthy and happy, but the lawsuit still aims to hold someone accountable for what happened during those 24 hours. 

"It's worth it, taking those meds to be able to be a mom and be a human and be able to work full time is a blessing. So to have that taken away from me and to be struggling the way that I'm struggling now is it was it's very hard to come to terms with," says Fowler.

We reached out to VitalCore Health Strategies for comment, but we have yet to hear back.

We also reached out to the El Paso County Jail, which is not named in this lawsuit, and they declined to comment because of the ongoing litigation. 

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