$145,000 Verdict in Retaliatory Transfer Case
While at a Michigan prison work camp, prisoner Gerald L. Petrowski
committed a major infraction, resulting in transfer to a high security
level prison. Petrowski had a preexisting foot deformity that prevented him
from wearing regulation prison shoes. At the new prison Petrowski was not
allowed to wear the special shoes allowed at other prisons, requiring him
to wear shower shoes.
Petrowski ultimately filed seven grievances. This caused Assistant Deputy
Warden Barbara Bock and guard Richard Maxwell to alter Petrowski's security
level, causing a transfer to a higher security prison in Muskegon. While in
the shower there, Petrowski was stabbed in the back four times. For the
retaliatory transfer the jury awarded Petrowski compensatory damages of
$43,000 against Maxwell and $32,000 against Bock; punitive damages of
$40,000 against Maxwell and $30,000 against Bock. After the trial the
matter settled for $130,000 to avoid an appeal. See: Petrowski v. Maxwell,
USDC, ED MI, Case No. 95-CV-76340.
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Related legal case
Petrowski v. Maxwell
| Year | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC, ED MI, Case No. 95-CV-76340 |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Jury Verdict |
| Attorney Fees | 0 |
| Damages | 145000 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |