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$15,000 Settlement for Amputated Finger

On February 2, 2007, Anthony Jose Gonzales accepted a $15,000 settlement from Sacramento County, California for the loss of his right-middle finger, which was amputated due to infection while he was being held in the County's Main Jail for drug possession. The settlement was reached in response to a complaint filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983 and §1988 by Plaintiff's attorney, Stewart Katz of Sacramento, alleging civil rights violations, including deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.

Various County and medical services officials and staff were named as Defendants in the suit in their official and individual capacities. They were accused of ignoring Gonzales's many pleas for medical attention for his finger, which was swollen to several times its normal size and oozing pus due to a splinter. Jail staff and medical personnel refused to provide medical treatment until more than a month later when the judge at Gonzales' criminal hearing was made aware of the situation and ordered immediate medical attention.

Unfortunately, by that time it was too late to save the finger, and it was surgically removed at UC Davis Medical Center. The $15,000 settlement was paid by Sacramento County with no admission of liability. See: Gonzales v. Sacramento County, et al, USDC, E.D. Cal., No. 2:06-cv-01707-WBS-KJM.

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Related legal case

Gonzales v. Sacramento County, et al

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