Ramsey County's defense lawyer argued Thursday that a tuberculosis-infected jail inmate isn't due monetary damages because he didn't come forward and ask for help.

Cliff Greene said the county can only be financially liable for Marchello McCaster's lack of medical treatment for tuberculosis while in the Ramsey County workhouse if the staff "knowingly withholds treatment."

To do so, the five nurses who saw him would have had to know he was ill, Greene argued to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Kyle.

The county wants Kyle to dismiss the lawsuit, which seeks several million dollars. Kyle gave no indication of when he will rule, but he did set a September trial date.

When McCaster, 28, of St. Paul checked into the jail in 2008 on a fifth-degree assault conviction he already had undiagnosed tuberculosis. After 54 days, a guard insisted that he be taken to Regions Hospital, according to his complaint against the county. He still has holes in his lungs that limit his activity.

Kyle questioned Greene, "Why isn't the staff asking some questions? He obviously doesn't look good." Greene said the jail nurses aren't responsible for monitoring inmates' health.

Kyle asked, "Who is responsible for monitoring his health if not the nurses?" Greene said the inmates.

In his comments McCaster's lawyer Bob Bennett called the county's behavior "malignant." He added, "Everyone, guards, nurses and inmates, knew Marchello McCaster was a very sick man," but staff "dehumanized him to the point they looked at him, but did not see him."

McCaster's TB led to an outbreak that could cost the county up to $20 million in a settlement last fall of a class-action lawsuit by inmates. At least 100 inmates tested positive for tuberculosis.

The disease is most common in the lungs. TB spreads through coughing, sneezing and talking. In January, the Ramsey County Board approved a $1.5 million overhaul of the airflow system in the workhouse.

Rochelle Olson • 651-735-9749 Twitter: @rochelleolson