A city man is suing Blair County and its prison staff for $5 million, claiming the poor medical treatment at the prison nearly cost him his life last year.

Edwin Yingling, 52, was an inmate in the prison about a year ago and was serving a 90-day sentence related to a DUI charge.

The lawsuit, one of thirty or more inmate civil rights petitions filed over the past year, stated that on April 14, 2025, Yingling showed symptoms of respiratory illness that included shortness of breath, congestion and coughing.

“Mr. Yingling repeatedly requested medical attention from prison staff and medical personnel for his worsening respiratory symptoms.

“Despite these repeated requests, his pleas for medical care were not adequately addressed,” according to the lawsuit filed in late March with the federal District Court in Johnstown by Philadelphia attorneys Brian Zeiger and Laura Zipin.

PrimeCare Medical Inc. of Harrisburg provides medical services for the Blair Prison, and in response to his worsening condition, Yingling claims he was given an over-the-counter treatment but was not fully examined by a medical provider.

For instance, Yingling reported he was not evaluated by a physician or nurse, and he was not given a chest X-ray. He also was not prescribed antibiotics.

Another two weeks went by and, during that time, what was a treatable bacterial infection “was permitted to progress unchecked into a life-threatening, multi-organ medical emergency,” according to the lawsuit.

The inmate was finally taken to UPMC Altoona.

By that point, he was unable to breathe on his own, and it was noted he “required mechanical ventilation to sustain his life.”

He ended up in intensive care for 34 days, where “he suffered a cascade of life-threatening complications directly attributable to the severity of his untreated infection,” it is contended in the lawsuit.

On June 18, 2025, he was transferred to the Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital in Centre County, where he underwent intensive physical and occupational therapy.

He was discharged to his home on July 5.

The ensuing lawsuit was brought by Yingling and his wife against Blair County, several unnamed corrections officers, PrimeCare Medical and the company’s medical director.

The Yingling lawsuit outlined a list of past incidents that resulted in legal actions against Blair County and PrimeCare.

Those incidents included: an inmate suicide that was settled out of court in 2013; another suicide that involved the death of a 23-year-old mother of two suffering from serious mental health problems; and a class-action civil rights lawsuit filled by inmates describing conditions at the prison as violations of the Eighth Amendment barring cruel and unusual punishment.

The most recent lawsuit mentioned was filed this year by an inmate complaining of the inadequate medical care at the prison.

“At the time of the events giving rise to (the Yingling claims), Blair County and its contracted medical provider had actual knowledge — through repeated litigation, settlements and judicial findings — that their policies, customs and practices regarding inmate medical care were constitutionally deficient.

“The injuries suffered by Mr. Yingling were the direct and foreseeable result of this longstanding pattern of deliberate indifference,” the lawsuit concluded.

Blair County officials have a policy of not commenting on the many inmate lawsuits filed within the past year.

However, the prison board addressed the overcrowding and rodent issues at a meeting held Tuesday.

The Yingling lawsuit filed in the District Court has been assigned to Magistrate Judge Patricia L. Dodge in Pittsburgh.

The Philadelphia attorneys representing the Yinglings recently filed another federal lawsuit against the prison that involved the lack of medical care provided to a 38-year-old Altoona man who has alleged he was injured in an attack by several other inmates, but was not taken to UPMC Altoona for 40 hours.

PrimeCare is named as a defendant in that case.