$975,000 for Prison Clinic Error to Prisoner’s Estate
$975,000 for Prison Clinic Error to Prisoner’s Estate
The Big Sandy Federal Prison settled for $975,000 in August 2012 with the estate of prisoner Timothy Bell before a magistrate judge. A prison doctor, in July 2008, ordered that a “Priority!!!” biopsy be performed on a lump in Bell’s armpit. Despite numerous trips to the prison medical clinic, the biopsy was not performed for 15 months, by which time the lump had grown to the size of a baseball.
The biopsy unsurprisingly revealed stage III B lymphoma. Bell was released from prison and, after enduring significant pain and suffering, died the following year. In the Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit Bell alleged medical error by the prison clinic in failing to timely perform the biopsy. See: Bell v. Big Sandy Federal Prison, U.S.D.C. (E.D. Ky.), Case no: 7:12-cv-00017.
Source: Kentucky Trial Court Reporter (16 KTCR 10)
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Related legal case
Bell v. Big Sandy Federal Prison
| Year | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Cite | U.S.D.C. (E.D. Ky.), Case no: 7:12-cv-00017 |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 975,000 |