Posted by guest-writer | Posted in Personal Injury News
Prison inmates have their rights, too. In the Dallas County jail, two different inmates and their families filed injury lawsuits against the county, claiming they were neglected and denied much-needed medical treatment.
According to a report from the Dallas Morning News, the county paid out nearly $500,000 in damages for the two cases. The first suit was filed as a wrongful death in 2005, when a schizophrenic inmate died of pneumonia and the prison guards did not take her to the infirmary for medical treatment after she was found in her cell lying in her own waste. Her family will be awarded $250,000 in compensation.
The second lawsuit involved an inmate who was punched in the eye by another inmate, and clearly needed medical attention after losing his vision because of the blow. Guards refused to send him to doctors, and he never received the surgery he needed to properly fix his severely bruised eye. He will receive $190,000 for compensation.
An injury lawyer helped with the injury settlements in both of these cases.
The Dallas Morning News article also cited other cases of neglect of inmates needing medical treatment in the Dallas County jail in the past decade.
Moral of this story? If you ever find yourself imprisoned in Dallas, don’t get hurt, or you may never receive treatment.
My son is an inmate at Vienna Correctional facility in Vienna, Illinois. Approximately 6 weeks ago he was going to work out. He was going by the weights to lift. Since they do not have spotters the prison had the area beneath the benches dug out. In any event my son slipped and fell into the hole. He broke his neck and his wrist. He was paralyzed for some time. He was rushed to the hospital where he stayed for 3 weeks in intensive care with a halo. He was in terrible pain and was on morphine. He is still in a lot of pain. He was sent back to the facility with a brace. First he cannot get medication in jail, he needs physical therapy, did he get a second opinion. Also, in case of emergency he listed me his mother and his father. We did not receive one phone call. Someone in the jail that knew us called his father and left a message. I finally received a letter from my son about a couple of days ago. I do not think my son is getting appropriate care, we should have been notified immediately. What about all the pain and suffering. The emotional distress his father and I went through. I would like to know what avenues we should take to see he gets the proper care. Is there an attorney interested in this and willing to look into it for me.
Theresa Rega
5417 S Narragansett
Chicago, IL 60638
773.807.5548