A federal civil jury in Detroit returned a $307.6 million verdict on April 2, 2026, against CHS TX Inc., the successor entity to Corizon Health, and a physician defendant in a civil rights suit brought by former Michigan inmate Kohchise Jackson [1]. Jackson alleged that Corizon, then operating as the prison system's contracted health care provider, refused to authorize surgery to reverse his colostomy while he was incarcerated, a decision he contended was driven by cost containment rather than clinical judgment [1]. The operative claims proceeded under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging deliberate indifference to serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment [1].
The jury allocated $7.6 million in compensatory damages and $300 million in punitive damages against CHS TX, and an additional $100,000 in punitive damages against the physician defendant, identified in court records as Dr. Papendick [1]. The punitive award against CHS TX reflects the jury's finding that the company's conduct warranted punishment beyond mere compensation, a standard that requires proof of conscious disregard for constitutional rights [1]. Lead plaintiff counsel Jonathan Marko of Marko Law in Detroit represented Jackson at trial [1].
With punitive damages representing roughly 98 percent of the total award, the verdict is structured in a way that routinely invites post-trial motions and appellate review [1]. Courts applying the due process limits articulated in BMW of North America v. Gore and State Farm Mutual v. Campbell examine the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages as one factor in constitutional proportionality analysis. No immediate post-trial motions or appeal filings are reflected in the current source record, but the scale of the punitive component makes further litigation probable [1].
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