What the court has decided
In a September 2024 order, U.S. District Judge Jodi W. Dishman denied Turn Key Health Clinics’ motion to dismiss the estate’s claims in part, allowing allegations of corporate deliberate indifference and negligence to proceed. The ruling did not determine that Turn Key was liable. Court records identify Turn Key as the contractor responsible for medical care at Custer County Jail.
May was booked into the jail in 2022. The estate alleges that he stopped eating, declined physically and was not given adequate medical care. Court records say he was found unresponsive on March 18, 2022, taken to a hospital and died after losing about 50 pounds during 52 days in custody. The judge’s order describes those allegations and the medical events without treating them as proven facts.
The allegations about May’s care
The estate has alleged that May, who was 74, had serious health and cognitive problems and went for weeks without eating or showering. Fellow inmates filed written grievances asking jail personnel to obtain medical assistance, according to federal court filings. A prior account from Legal Newsline also reported the estate’s allegations that jail health-care providers failed to respond to his deteriorating condition.
Related Oklahoma cases and jail standards
In a separate 2020 Northern District of Oklahoma case, the court granted in part and denied in part Turn Key Health Clinics’ motion to dismiss, according to the posted court order in Lee v. Turn Key Health Clinics. That case involved different parties and allegations, so the ruling does not resolve the claims in May’s case. The Oklahoma State Department of Health’s detention-facility standards provide procedures for inspecting city and county detention facilities and state that continuity of care is required when inmates are transferred or discharged. Those general standards do not establish what happened in May’s case or whether the requirements were followed.
Daniel Smolen, who represents May’s family, told KFOR that May stopped eating soon after his arrest and appeared unaware of his surroundings. Custer County Undersheriff David Crabtree told the station that he had advised staff that May should be removed from the jail for medical reasons or because he should not have been held there. Those statements are accounts from the attorney and undersheriff, not findings in the court’s ruling.
Corporate-liability claim and next steps
The estate is pursuing claims against Turn Key at the corporate level as well as claims against individual medical personnel. The September 2024 ruling means those corporate allegations cleared the dismissal stage; it does not establish that the allegations will prevail or that the case will go to trial. The materials reviewed here do not establish a trial date or show that all later motions have been resolved.
Turn Key told KFOR that TK Health had been dismissed from the original lawsuit and that the company remained committed to defending its organization. The company also said that a separate Cleveland County settlement did not affect the May litigation, according to KFOR.
Separate Cleveland County case
The May litigation is separate from Cleveland County’s $20 million settlement with the estate of Shannon Hanchett, who died during a mental-health crisis in jail custody in December 2022. County commissioners approved the settlement 2-1, and claims against TK Health and medical staff remained pending, according to KGOU. TK Health ended its Cleveland County detention-center contract effective June 30, 2025, after operating there under the name ESW Correctional Care, according to OU Daily.
