Improper medical care at Horry Co. jail led to detainee’s leg amputation, suit says

A man who was detained at J. Reuben Long Detention Center filed a lawsuit alleging that improper medical care at the detention center led to him needing part of his leg to be amputated.

Tommy Adams, who had been detained at J. Reuben Long Detention Center for six days in late 2025, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday against Horry County, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office and Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson.

Adams was arrested and detained in the early morning of Aug. 27, 2025, and was charged with using 911 unlawfully. After being held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center for six days, Adams was discharged on Sept. 2, 2025.

What was wrong with detainee’s leg?

The day before Adams’ arrest, he went to a hospital for a diabetic ulcer in his right foot and was prescribed an antibiotic to treat it.

Over the course of Adams’ detainment in J. Reuben Long Detention Center, staff at the facility never administered the antibiotic medication despite Adams requesting it multiple times, according to the lawsuit.

When Adams was released from the detention center, he visited the hospital again for the foot ulcer. Doctors found the infection from the ulcer had spread to Adams’ second and third metatarsals.

Adams ultimately required a below-the-knee amputation on his right leg due to the spread of the infection.

“We are not going to comment on an open lawsuit,” Brennan Cavanagh, public information officer for the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a statement to The Sun News. “The care, safety, and security of individuals in custody remains our top priority. Inmates at J. Reuben Long Detention Center have 24/7 access to medical care by a privately contracted provider.”

Health company in charge of jail’s medical care

J. Reuben Long Detention Center has been contracted with MEDIKO, a Virginia-based correctional health company, for the facility’s medical care since 2017. More than a dozen lawsuits in Horry County have been filed since the partnership between the two started, alleging medical malpractice and wrongful deaths in the facility.

While MEDIKO was not named as a defendant in Adams’ lawsuit, the company is mentioned in court filings. The lawsuit alleges that the named defendants were aware MEDIKO was not providing adequate medical care to detainees.

The lawsuit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages to account for both the medical costs incurred by Adams and how the injuries have impacted Adams’ life and work.