Inmate's family question if medical care was 'adequate'

Nick Evans died from pneumonia and MRSA in the Whangarei Hospital. Photo / Supplied

Lawyers engaged by the family of a prison inmate who died after contracting a superbug want to know how staff responded to his complaints of illness.

Criminal lawyer Matthew Goodwin said Nick Evans' parents Glenn and Julie had instructed him to seek information from the Department of Corrections and Serco which might answer questions about their son's death.

The family had also asked Mr Goodwin and fellow lawyer Martin Hislop to act on their behalf at the inquest into Evans' death last month in Whangarei Hospital.

Events leading to Evans' death were linked by Labour's Kelvin Davis to a case of prison violence at Mt Eden Corrections Facility.

Inquiries by the Herald confirmed Evans was assaulted, but that the attacks were unlikely to be linked to his death.

He died after treatment for pneumonia, and a ruptured lung was compounded by the presence of the MRSA superbug.

Mr Goodwin, who also represented Evans when he was alive, said there were two distinct parts to his inquiry. The first covered the period in which Evans was a prisoner at Mt Eden. It was believed he had suffered a number of assaults, including in a segregated area where he had been placed for his own safety.

The second related to Evans being sent from Mt Eden to Nga Wha Prison in Northland. Mr Goodwin said overcrowding was a reason given for Evans' move but there were apparently just three people in the van which took him north.

"We want to access information about the condition he was in when he went into the (prison transport) truck."

Mr Goodwin said it was believed Evans had complained of chest pains when he arrived at Nga Wha but was sent to his cell without medical treatment.

"At some stage over the next 24 hours, whether inside or outside his cell, he collapsed."

Evans was sent to a medical centre in Kaikohe and referred by a doctor there to Whangarei Hospital.

It was believed the transport van was sent back to the prison so guards could change shifts before Evans was taken to hospital.

"Every moment lost could have been critical," Mr Goodwin said. "We want to assess whether the care of Nick was adequate."

Corrections has two inquiries underway into Evans' death - one into his medical care and another by the prison inspectorate into his death. The coroner is also investigating.

Corrections has said previously it won't comment further until those investigations are complete.