This article is from the Fairfield Daily Republic.
Ex-inmate loses testicle, gains settlement with county
By Jess Sullivan
Lowell Crowder, 47, lost one of his testicles at the age of 19. After he lost his other testicle while he was locked up at the Solano County jail he sued the jail.
Crowder settled his lawsuit against the county earlier this month after agreeing to a $200,000 payment and an agreement by the county to pay for more than $40,000 in medical bills.
Crowder was arrested in Vallejo in May 2003 for driving under the influence and for possessing marijuana for sale. His arrest came 10 days after he had gone to a local emergency room because his testicle had suddenly swollen up to the size of a baseball. Doctors gave Crowder a regimen of antibiotics but when he was arrested those pills were no longer available.
Crowder claims he told jailers of his problem when he was initially taken into custody. He also claims he repeatedly talked to jail staff about his intense pain and his need to see a doctor.
Jail staff dispute Crowder's claims but staff and Crowder both agree he was first seen by a doctor June 6. The doctor prescribed more antibiotics but the lapse in medication may have aggravated the infection. Crowder's remaining testicle was removed a week later.
"He has literally to live without the core of his manhood," Crowder's lawyer stated in legal papers accompanying a lawsuit filed last year. The lawyer also claimed Crowder would need to be treated with hormones for the rest of his life and would never be able to father children.
Crowder, claiming medical malpractice and negligent supervision of jail health care, had originally asked for $500,000 for the lost testicle.
(Photo not from article.)
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