Virginia Must Improve Prison Medical Care Under Proposed Class-action Settlement
by David Reutter
The Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) has agreed to let a court-appointed monitor examine medical policies at all state prisons, and to allow a third-party physician to oversee health care at the Fluvanna Correctional …
Jury Awards $12,000 to Connecticut Prisoner for Unsanitary Mattress
by David M. Reutter
A Connecticut federal jury awarded $12,000 in damages to a prisoner who was forced to sleep on an unhygienic mattress that was missing much of its stuffing.
The case involved a civil rights …
Peer-Review Reports Must be Disclosed in Philadelphia Jail Conditions Suit
by David Reutter
A Pennsylvania federal district court held on November 4, 2014 that medical care contractor Corizon Health has to produce mortality and sentinel event reviews in a class-action suit filed by prisoners in the Philadelphia …
$3,000 Jury Award to Arizona Prisoner Denied Prostate Care
by David M. Reutter
An Arizona federal jury awarded $3,000 to a prisoner in a case involving the delay or denial of medical care. Post-trial, the district court awarded $3,908.25 in attorney fees and costs, but found reductions …
Alabama Courts Must Review Substance of Claim Despite Pleading’s Title
by David Reutter
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals held on August 1, 2014 that a trial court should treat pleadings according to their substance rather than their captions. Accordingly, the appellate court reversed the dismissal of …
Error for Florida Court to Find Action Moot Before Ruling on Motion to Supplement
by David Reutter
lForida’s First District Court of Appeals held on January 2, 2015 that it was error for a trial court to dismiss as moot a prisoner’s mandamus petition without ruling on …
Peer-Review Reports Must be Disclosed in Philadelphia Jail Conditions Suit
by David Reutter
A Pennsylvania federal district court held on November 4, 2014 that medical care contractor Corizon Health has to produce mortality and sentinel event reviews in a class-action suit filed by prisoners in the Philadelphia …
Settlement Moots Appeal of Claims Denied by Summary Judgment
by David Reutter
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a prisoner’s civil rights appeal after finding it was rendered moot by the parties’ post-trial settlement agreement.
Nevada prisoner Christopher A. Jones was subjected to disciplinary …
$1.35 Million Total Settlement for South Carolina Detainee Beaten by Jail Guard
by David M. Reutter
Richland County, South Carolina has agreed to pay $750,000 to a pretrial detainee who was seriously injured after being beaten by a guard. The jail’s private medical contractor, Correct Care Solutions …
Alabama DOC Agrees to Protect Women Prisoners from Systemic Sexual Abuse, Harassment
by David M. Reutter
The State of Alabama has agreed to implement reforms designed to protect prisoners at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women from what investigators with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) described …
