Man Loses Fingers and Legs After Jail Staff Ignored His Medical Pleas

Clear Facts

• Rashaad Muhammad was arrested in August and booked into Fulton County Jail, where he says medical staff refused to provide antibiotics and supplies he repeatedly requested for a chronic bladder condition
• Less than two weeks after his arrest, Muhammad’s condition deteriorated so severely he required amputation of his fingers and lower legs to save his life
• The Fulton County Jail has been under Department of Justice investigation since 2023 for housing prisoners in filthy and unsafe conditions that violate constitutional rights

A Georgia man now confined to a wheelchair says he endured a nightmare at the Fulton County Jail that cost him his fingers and lower legs. Rashaad Muhammad’s ordeal raises serious questions about medical neglect and accountability in a facility already under federal scrutiny.

Muhammad was arrested in August and taken to the Atlanta jail, where he says medical staff systematically ignored his warnings. He told them he needed antibiotics and medical supplies for a chronic bladder condition that makes him highly susceptible to infection. Those supplies were in his car at the time of arrest, and he made his medical needs clear to officers, according to his legal team.

“I’m not okay. Every day is a battle. It’s a struggle,” Muhammad said during a news conference outside the jail after meeting with Sheriff Pat Labat.

Despite repeated requests from Muhammad and pleas from fellow inmates who witnessed his declining health, jail staff and medical provider NaphCare allegedly did nothing. Less than two weeks after his arrest, Muhammad could no longer stand. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors delivered devastating news: to save his life, they would need to amputate his fingers and both lower legs.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing Muhammad, called the meeting with the sheriff “like coming back to a nightmare that you pray every day isn’t real.”

“This is the very definition of deliberate indifference,” Crump said, arguing the treatment violated Muhammad’s constitutional rights.

The Fulton County Jail has been a source of mounting concern for years. The U.S. Department of Justice launched a civil rights investigation in 2023, finding prisoners housed in filthy and unsafe conditions. The DOJ and county officials entered a court-enforceable consent decree a year ago, with an independent monitor now tracking conditions and progress.

Crump placed blame squarely on the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, saying members were aware of systemic problems but failed to act. He and Sheriff Labat have both called for a new jail facility.

Earlier this month, the board of commissioners voted to borrow up to $1.3 billion for jail improvements, including a new special purpose facility and renovations to the existing main jail.

But for Muhammad, the changes come too late.

Muhammad was arrested in connection with a shooting on August 11. According to his attorney Liza Park, he called 911 but was arrested on aggravated assault and gun possession charges when police arrived. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and medically cleared before being transferred to the jail.

Muhammad uses a catheter for his chronic bladder condition and relies on antibiotics and other medical supplies to prevent infection. He made his needs known immediately upon arrest and continued asking for help inside the jail. As his condition worsened, other inmates joined his pleas for medical attention. All were ignored.

By August 22, Muhammad was in severe medical distress and moved back to the hospital. He fell into a coma and woke up weeks later to learn that infection had spread so extensively through his hands and legs that amputation was the only option to save his life. Doctors told him it was “life over limbs,” Crump said.

Muhammad underwent multiple surgeries and spent months in the hospital recovering. While he was hospitalized, criminal charges against him were dropped.

Crump said Muhammad’s legal team is exploring “every possible legal remedy” and has asked for a criminal investigation into the events leading to the amputations. He also called for NaphCare to be removed as the jail’s medical provider, citing another inmate’s death in a bedbug-infested cell in 2022.

Muhammad described his meeting with the sheriff as “productive” but “not enough.” The question now is whether anyone will be held accountable for the suffering of a man who entered jail with his limbs and left without them.

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