“Thanks to Jonathan Shapiro (civil rights law; criminal defense: general practice; criminal defense: white-collar) and the advocacy of prisoners’ rights groups, Massachusetts inmates will now have access to lifesaving treatments for hepatitis C.
A class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf of prisoners by attorneys with the National Lawyers Guild and with Prisoners’ Legal Services, claimed fewer inmates were being treated for hepatitis C and fewer were being evaluated for treatment because of a recent increase in the cost of medication. Hepatitis C, which causes liver damage and can be fatal, is common in prisons and spreads quickly through drug use or bodily fluids.”