Inmates Family Sues Jail After Improper Care

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Orange Country Jail Sued.

A wrongful death suit has been filed against Orange County Jail due to what some are saying was a preventable death.  The suit was filed directly against Robert Buck, the head of the jails health services department, along with four nurses that cared for the late inmate.

Dog Bites Leads to Death In Jail.

In 2015, Max Gracia was arrested. During his arrest, he sustained many bites from one of the police dogs. He was treated in the hospital until he was stable. Once he was moved to the jail cell he was found unconscious and later died in the hospital. The autopsy reported that he died from an E Coli infection that stemmed from the dog bites. His mother, Willine Gracia, has filed the wrongful death suit claiming that her son received subpar care and as a result died.

Claimants Allege “A Culture of Neglect.”

Reportedly the medical staff of the jail stated that Garcia was exaggerating or faking the illness. The lawsuit claims the jail has a “culture of neglect”and this was really what was at work here.  Willine Gracia states that she hopes that this lawsuit will bring attention to the wrongful health care services so many inmates receive.

Providing Representation For All Health Care Professionals.

Our firm has represented a number of nurses, physicians and other health care professionals who provide care in jails and prisons, as well as in other government facilities and institutions.  We routinely represent physicians, nurses and advance practice nurses who work for the VA, the Department of Health, the county, the military, the Indian Health Service and other government agencies.  Although government employees may have personal immunity from civil suits, they are not protected against termination and other employment actions, complaints against their professional license, National Practitioner Data Bank reports, and other types of administrative actions;  our firm represents them in all of these.  The government is not going to represent you in these.  Call us at the first sign of a legal problem.
To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

Sources:

Hayes, Christal. “Family Sues Orange County Jail, Nursing Staff after Inmate’s Death from Police-Dog Bite.” OrlandoSentinel.com, 1 Aug. 2017. (Print).

Walden, Tiffany. “Inmate Son Suffered Seizure before Death, Mom.” Orlando Sentinel. (16 Aug. 2016). Web.

Key Words: Legal representation for government physicians, legal representation for government nurses, legal defense of professional licensure cases, legal representation for Board of Nursing cases, legal representation for Board of Medicine cases, Board of Nursing investigation defense attorney, legal representation for peer review, legal representation for administrative actions, legal representation for VA physicians, legal representation for VA nurses,  health care lawyer, The Health Law Firm reviews

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.Copyright © 2017 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

 

Mentally Ill Inmate Gouges Out Own Eyes, Sues County for Negligence

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On December 7, 2017, a mentally ill inmate in the Boulder, Colorado, jail sued a sheriff in federal court, claiming that the jail staff failed to stop the man from using his fingers to gouge out his own eyes after several prior attempts to do so. The inmate sued the sheriff and 21 other jail employees in U.S. District Court in Denver. He claimed that he blinded himself because they failed to heed warning signs to treat his mental illness, according to the civil lawsuit filed by his Denver civil rights attorneys.

Inmate Negligence.

The inmate, who is now blind and suffers from deep, severe schizophrenic psychosis, is seeking monetary awards for negligence, including compensatory damages for physical and psychological injuries including pain and emotional distress and humiliation. He suffers from auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions and paranoia, according to the lawsuit.

On December 17, 2016, the inmate curled up in a ball in his cell with fingernails that hadn’t been cut for six weeks and plucked both of his eyes “completely out of his head,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit also says jailers failed to respond to a series of precursor events in which the inmate said he would gouge his eyes out. In early 2016, he banged his head into his toilet, breaking seven teeth, the lawsuit says. Additionally, there were several prior attempts by the inmate to committed suicide.

Shane McGurk, the jail’s mental health program director, sought an emergency court order to get him psychiatric treatment. The judge ordered deputies to immediately take him to get psychiatric treatment. However, according to the lawsuit, the orders were ignored and the “Defendants’ willful and deliberate indifference to the inmate’s serious medical needs directly led to his self-mutilation, head and vertebrae injury, broken teeth and ultimately, to his permanent blindness.”

The jail failed to properly train officers in how to care for a mentally ill inmate, the lawsuit said.

This is not the first time an inmate or their families have sued for improper care during incarceration. Click here to read one of my prior blogs on a similar case.

It is an unfortunate reality that our society today tends to ignore citizens with true and severe mental health illnesses, choosing to treat them as criminals, instead. Instead of allocating funds for treatment, acting in a preventative manner, it prefers to spend the money for prisons and paying for incarceration. This is a complete shame. This poor, mentally ill individual suffers the consequences. Unfortunately, the officials who run our jails and prisons also suffer by being the treater of last resort, which is grossly unfair to them, as well. Our jail and prison officials should have a “safety relief valve” available to them where they can divert individuals who have been incarcerated because of their mental illnesses and obtain appropriate treatment for them.

Providing Representation For All Health Care Professionals.

Our firm has represented a number of nurses, physicians and other health care professionals who provide care in jails and prisons, as well as in other government facilities and institutions. We routinely represent physicians, nurses and advance practice nurses who work for the VA, the Department of Health, the county, the military, the Indian Health Service and other government agencies. Although government employees may have personal immunity from civil suits, they are not protected against termination and other employment actions, complaints against their professional license, National Practitioner Data Bank reports, and other types of administrative actions; our firm represents them in all of these. The government is not going to represent you in these. Call us at the first sign of a legal problem.

To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Sources:

Mitchell, Kirk. “Mentally Ill inmate sues for negligence.” The Denver Post. (December 8, 2017). Web.

Mitchell, Kirk. “Psychotic Boulder jail inmate gouges out own eyes, sues county for negligence.” The Denver Post. (December 7, 2017). Web.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

KeyWords: Legal representation for government physicians, legal representation for government nurses, legal representation for mental health professionals, mental health defense attorney, legal representation of mental health counselors, mental health counselor defense attorney, legal defense of professional licensure cases, legal representation for Board of Nursing cases, legal representation for Board of Medicine cases, Board of Nursing investigation defense attorney, legal representation for peer review, legal representation for administrative actions, legal representation for health care professionals, legal representation for psychiatrists, psychiatrists defense attorney, defense counsel for mental health professionals, health care lawyer, The Health Law Firm reviews

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.Copyright © 2017 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

Inmates Family Sues Jail After Improper Care

8 Indest-2008-5By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Orange Country Jail Sued.

A wrongful death suit has been filed against Orange County Jail due to what some are saying was a preventable death.  The suit was filed directly against Robert Buck, the head of the jails health services department, along with four nurses that cared for the late inmate.

Dog Bites Leads to Death In Jail.

In 2015, Max Gracia was arrested. During his arrest, he sustained many bites from one of the police dogs. He was treated in the hospital until he was stable. Once he was moved to the jail cell he was found unconscious and later died in the hospital. The autopsy reported that he died from an E Coli infection that stemmed from the dog bites. His mother, Willine Gracia, has filed the wrongful death suit claiming that her son received subpar care and as a result died.

Claimants Allege “A Culture of Neglect.”

Reportedly the medical staff of the jail stated that Garcia was exaggerating or faking the illness. The lawsuit claims the jail has a “culture of neglect”and this was really what was at work here.  Willine Gracia states that she hopes that this lawsuit will bring attention to the wrongful health care services so many inmates receive.

Providing Representation For All Health Care Professionals.

Our firm has represented a number of nurses, physicians and other health care professionals who provide care in jails and prisons, as well as in other government facilities and institutions.  We routinely represent physicians, nurses and advance practice nurses who work for the VA, the Department of Health, the county, the military, the Indian Health Service and other government agencies.  Although government employees may have personal immunity from civil suits, they are not protected against termination and other employment actions, complaints against their professional license, National Practitioner Data Bank reports, and other types of administrative actions;  our firm represents them in all of these.  The government is not going to represent you in these.  Call us at the first sign of a legal problem.
To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

Sources:

Hayes, Christal. “Family Sues Orange County Jail, Nursing Staff after Inmate’s Death from Police-Dog Bite.” OrlandoSentinel.com, 1 Aug. 2017. (Print).

Walden, Tiffany. “Inmate Son Suffered Seizure before Death, Mom.” Orlando Sentinel. (16 Aug. 2016). Web.

Key Words: Legal representation for government physicians, legal representation for government nurses, legal defense of professional licensure cases, legal representation for Board of Nursing cases, legal representation for Board of Medicine cases, Board of Nursing investigation defense attorney, legal representation for peer review, legal representation for administrative actions, legal representation for VA physicians, legal representation for VA nurses,  health care lawyer, The Health Law Firm reviews

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.Copyright © 2017 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

 

Inmates Family Sues Jail After Improper Care

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Orange Country Jail Sued.

A wrongful death suit has been filed against Orange County Jail due to what some are saying was a preventable death.  The suit was filed directly against Robert Buck, the head of the jails health services department, along with four nurses that cared for the late inmate.

Dog Bites Leads to Death In Jail.

In 2015, Max Gracia was arrested. During his arrest, he sustained many bites from one of the police dogs. He was treated in the hospital until he was stable. Once he was moved to the jail cell he was found unconscious and later died in the hospital. The autopsy reported that he died from an E Coli infection that stemmed from the dog bites. His mother, Willine Gracia, has filed the wrongful death suit claiming that her son received subpar care and as a result died.

Claimants Allege “A Culture of Neglect.”

Reportedly the medical staff of the jail stated that Garcia was exaggerating or faking the illness. The lawsuit claims the jail has a “culture of neglect”and this was really what was at work here.  Willine Gracia states that she hopes that this lawsuit will bring attention to the wrongful health care services so many inmates receive.

Providing Representation For All Health Care Professionals.

Our firm has represented a number of nurses, physicians and other health care professionals who provide care in jails and prisons, as well as in other government facilities and institutions.  We routinely represent physicians, nurses and advance practice nurses who work for the VA, the Department of Health, the county, the military, the Indian Health Service and other government agencies.  Although government employees may have personal immunity from civil suits, they are not protected against termination and other employment actions, complaints against their professional license, National Practitioner Data Bank reports, and other types of administrative actions;  our firm represents them in all of these.  The government is not going to represent you in these.  Call us at the first sign of a legal problem.
To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

Sources:

Hayes, Christal. “Family Sues Orange County Jail, Nursing Staff after Inmate’s Death from Police-Dog Bite.” OrlandoSentinel.com, 1 Aug. 2017. (Print).

Walden, Tiffany. “Inmate Son Suffered Seizure before Death, Mom.” Orlando Sentinel. (16 Aug. 2016). Web.

Key Words: Legal representation for government physicians, legal representation for government nurses, legal defense of professional licensure cases, legal representation for Board of Nursing cases, legal representation for Board of Medicine cases, Board of Nursing investigation defense attorney, legal representation for peer review, legal representation for administrative actions, legal representation for VA physicians, legal representation for VA nurses,  health care lawyer, The Health Law Firm reviews

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.Copyright © 2017 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

 

Mentally Ill Inmate Gouges Out Own Eyes, Sues County for Negligence

George IndestBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On December 7, 2017, a mentally ill inmate in the Boulder, Colorado, jail sued Sheriff Joe Pelle in federal court, claiming that the jail staff failed to stop the man from using his fingers to gouge out his own eyes after several prior attempts to do so. Ryan Partridge sued Pelle and 21 other jail employees in U.S. District Court in Denver. He claimed that he blinded himself because they failed to heed warning signs to treat his mental illness, according to the civil lawsuit filed by Denver civil rights attorneys David Lane and Kathryn Stimson.

Inmate Negligence.

The inmate, who is now blind and suffers from deep, severe schizophrenic psychosis, is seeking monetary awards for negligence, including compensatory damages for physical and psychological injuries including pain and emotional distress and humiliation. He suffers from auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions and paranoia, according to the lawsuit.

On December 17, 2016, Partridge curled up in a ball in his cell with fingernails that hadn’t been cut for six weeks and plucked both of his eyes “completely out of his head,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit also says jailers failed to respond to a series of precursor events in which the inmate said he would gouge his eyes out. In early 2016, he banged his head into his toilet, breaking seven teeth, the lawsuit says. Additionally, there were several prior attempts by the inmate to committed suicide.

Shane McGurk, the jail’s mental health program director, sought an emergency court order to get him psychiatric treatment. The judge ordered deputies to immediately take him to get psychiatric treatment. However, according to the lawsuit, the orders were ignored and the “Defendants’ willful and deliberate indifference to Mr. Partridge’s serious medical needs directly led to his self-mutilation, head and vertebrae injury, broken teeth and ultimately, to his permanent blindness.”

The jail failed to properly train officers in how to care for a mentally ill inmate, the lawsuit said.

This is not the first time an inmate or their families have sued for improper care during incarceration. Click here to read one of my prior blogs on a similar case.

It is an unfortunate reality that our society today tends to ignore citizens with true and severe mental health illnesses, choosing to treat them as criminals, instead. Instead of allocating funds for treatment, acting in a preventative manner, it prefers to spend the money for prisons and paying for incarceration. This is a complete shame. This poor, mentally ill individual suffers the consequences. Unfortunately, the officials who run our jails and prisons also suffer by being the treater of last resort, which is grossly unfair to them, as well. Our jail and prison officials should have a “safety relief valve” available to them where they can divert individuals who have been incarcerated because of their mental illnesses and obtain appropriate treatment for them.

Providing Representation For All Health Care Professionals.

Our firm has represented a number of nurses, physicians and other health care professionals who provide care in jails and prisons, as well as in other government facilities and institutions. We routinely represent physicians, nurses and advance practice nurses who work for the VA, the Department of Health, the county, the military, the Indian Health Service and other government agencies. Although government employees may have personal immunity from civil suits, they are not protected against termination and other employment actions, complaints against their professional license, National Practitioner Data Bank reports, and other types of administrative actions; our firm represents them in all of these. The government is not going to represent you in these. Call us at the first sign of a legal problem.

To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Sources:

Mitchell, Kirk. “Mentally Ill inmate sues for negligence.” The Denver Post. (December 8, 2017). Web.

Mitchell, Kirk. “Psychotic Boulder jail inmate gouges out own eyes, sues county for negligence.” The Denver Post. (December 7, 2017). Web.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

KeyWords: Legal representation for government physicians, legal representation for government nurses, legal representation for mental health professionals, mental health defense attorney, legal representation of mental health counselors, mental health counselor defense attorney, legal defense of professional licensure cases, legal representation for Board of Nursing cases, legal representation for Board of Medicine cases, Board of Nursing investigation defense attorney, legal representation for peer review, legal representation for administrative actions, legal representation for health care professionals, legal representation for psychiatrists, psychiatrists defense attorney, defense counsel for mental health professionals, health care lawyer, The Health Law Firm reviews

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.Copyright © 2017 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

Finding an Attorney/Lawyer Who Takes Nurses Service Organization (NSO) Insurance to Defend Nursing Board Complaints

5 Indest-2008-2By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

We often hear from callers and clients in professional licensing complaints, Department of Health investigations and Board of Nursing cases, that they had good insurance coverage with Nurses Service Organization (NSO) Insurance, but could not find an attorney that would accept it. Often these nurses retain us after action has been taken to appeal or attempt to reverse an adverse disciplinary action taken against their nursing license.

This should not be a difficult task. Our firm and its attorneys have accepted NSO Insurance for over 25 years. Additionally, all of our attorneys are members of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA)

Our firm has attorneys that are licensed in and can defend registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurse practitioners, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) in Florida, Colorado, Louisiana, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Additionally, there are many states, such as Tennessee, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and others, which allow us to appear before their boards of nursing and represent clients in these state under their “multi-jurisdictional practice” rules, because this is an area in which we routinely practice.

Legal areas in which we can represent a NSO insured that NSO will pay for include: administrative hearings, complaints against your nursing license, an investigation of a complaint made against your nursing license, a deposition you may be subpoenaed for, a complaint made for violation of HIPAA or patient privacy, and many others.

Regardless of the state, contact us at:

The Health Law Firm, Main Office
1101 Douglas Ave.
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
Phone: (407) 331-6620
Fax: (407) 331-3030
Website: www.TheHealthLawFirm.com
Internet Contact: www.TheHealthLawFirm.com/contact-us/

One last word, regardless of whether you are covered by HPSO Insurance or not, if an investigator contacts you to obtain a statement from you, whether orally or in writing, always, always, always, consult with an experienced attorney in this area BEFORE giving any statement or talking to the investigator about anything.

Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced with Nursing Issues Today.

The attorneys of The Health Law Firm provide legal representation to nurses, nurse practitioners, and CRNAs in investigations, contract negotiations, licensing issues and at Board of Nursing hearings. They also advise nurses wrongfully accused of diverting drugs and those wrongfully terminated from employment. Its attorneys represent nurses in DOH investigations, Board of Nursing cases and administrative hearings.

To contact The Health Law Firm, please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

KeyWords: Legal representation for nurses, Board of Nursing investigation defense attorney, Nurse defense attorney, legal counsel for Board of Nursing investigations and hearings, health care professional defense attorney, legal representation for medical professionals, Florida NSO health law attorneys, legal representation for cases dealing with NSO insurance, reviews of The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews, Florida health law attorney, legal representation for administrative hearings, legal representation for complaints against a professional license, licensure defense attorney, legal representation for a complaint made for violation of HIPAA or patient privacy, legal representation for nurses in Florida, legal representation for nurses in Colorado, legal representation for nurses in Louisiana, legal representation for nurses in Virginia and legal representation for nurses in the District of Columbia

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.
Copyright © 2017 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved

Finding an Attorney/Lawyer Who Takes CPH & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance To Represent Nurses in Complaint Investigations

IndestBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

We often hear from nurses who call and retain us to represent them in complaints against their nursing licenses in professional licensing complaints and investigations. This includes letters from the Department of Health (DOH) advising them that they are being investigated, Administrative Complaints, emergency restriction orders (EROs), and emergency suspension orders (ESOs).

In many cases they had good insurance coverage with CPH & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance, but could not find an attorney that would accept it. Often these nurses retain us after adverse disciplinary action has already been taken. They retain us to appeal or attempt to reverse an adverse disciplinary action taken against their license, including revocations.

Finding legal counsel that accepts your insurance should not be a difficult task. Our firm and its attorneys have accepted CPH&A Insurance for years.

Our firm has attorneys that are licensed in and can defend nurses in Florida, Colorado, Louisiana, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Additionally, there are many states, such as Tennessee, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and others, which allow us to appear before their boards and represent clients in these state under their “multi-jurisdictional practice” rules, because this is an area in which we routinely practice.

Legal areas in which we can represent an CPH&A insured that CPH&A will pay for include: investigations commenced against a nurse’s license, administrative hearings, complaints against a professional license, emergency restriction orders, emergency suspension orders, administrative complaints, appeals from adverse disciplinary actions, a deposition for which you may be subpoenaed, and many others.

Regardless of the state, contact us at:

The Health Law Firm, Main Office
1101 Douglas Ave.
ALtamonte Springs, FL 32714
Phone: (407) 331-6620
Fax: (407) 331-3030
Website: www.TheHealthLawFirm.com
Internet Contact: www.TheHealthLawFirm.com/contact-us/

One last word, regardless of whether you are covered by CPH&A Insurance or not, if an investigator contacts you to obtain a statement from you, whether orally or in writing, always, always, always, consult with an experienced attorney in this area BEFORE giving any statement or talking to the investigator about anything.

Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced with Nursing Issues Today.

The attorneys of The Health Law Firm provide legal representation to nurses, nurse practitioners, and CRNAs in investigations, contract negotiations, licensing issues and at Board of Nursing hearings. They also advise nurses wrongfully accused of diverting drugs and those wrongfully terminated from employment. Its attorneys represent nurses in DOH investigations, Board of Nursing cases and administrative hearings.

To contact The Health Law Firm, please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. http://www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

 

KeyWords: Legal representation for nurses, Board of Nursing investigation defense attorney, Nurse defense attorney, legal counsel for Board of Nursing investigations and hearings, health care professional defense attorney, legal representation for medical professionals, CPH & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance health law attorneys, legal representation for cases dealing with CPH & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance, reviews of The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews, Florida health law attorney, legal representation for administrative hearings, legal representation for complaints against a professional license, licensure defense attorney, legal representation for a complaint made for violation of HIPAA or patient privacy, legal representation for nurses in Florida, legal representation for nurses in Colorado, legal representation for nurses in Louisiana, legal representation for nurses in Virginia and legal representation for nurses in the District of Columbia

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.
Copyright © 2017 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved

Mentally Ill Inmate Gouges Out Own Eyes, Sues County for Negligence

7 Indest-2008-4By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On December 7, 2017, a mentally ill inmate in the Boulder, Colorado, jail sued Sheriff Joe Pelle in federal court, claiming that the jail staff failed to stop the man from using his fingers to gouge out his own eyes after several prior attempts to do so. Ryan Partridge sued Pelle and 21 other jail employees in U.S. District Court in Denver. He claimed that he blinded himself because they failed to heed warning signs to treat his mental illness, according to the civil lawsuit filed by Denver civil rights attorneys David Lane and Kathryn Stimson.

Inmate Negligence.

The inmate, who is now blind and suffers from deep, severe schizophrenic psychosis, is seeking monetary awards for negligence, including compensatory damages for physical and psychological injuries including pain and emotional distress and humiliation. He suffers from auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions and paranoia, according to the lawsuit.

On December 17, 2016, Partridge curled up in a ball in his cell with fingernails that hadn’t been cut for six weeks and plucked both of his eyes “completely out of his head,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit also says jailers failed to respond to a series of precursor events in which the inmate said he would gouge his eyes out. In early 2016, he banged his head into his toilet, breaking seven teeth, the lawsuit says. Additionally, there were several prior attempts by the inmate to committed suicide.

Shane McGurk, the jail’s mental health program director, sought an emergency court order to get him psychiatric treatment. The judge ordered deputies to immediately take him to get psychiatric treatment. However, according to the lawsuit, the orders were ignored and the “Defendants’ willful and deliberate indifference to Mr. Partridge’s serious medical needs directly led to his self-mutilation, head and vertebrae injury, broken teeth and ultimately, to his permanent blindness.”

The jail failed to properly train officers in how to care for a mentally ill inmate, the lawsuit said.

This is not the first time an inmate or their families have sued for improper care during incarceration. Click here to read one of my prior blogs on a similar case.

It is an unfortunate reality that our society today tends to ignore citizens with true and severe mental health illnesses, choosing to treat them as criminals, instead. Instead of allocating funds for treatment, acting in a preventative manner, it prefers to spend the money for prisons and paying for incarceration. This is a complete shame. This poor, mentally ill individual suffers the consequences. Unfortunately, the officials who run our jails and prisons also suffer by being the treater of last resort, which is grossly unfair to them, as well. Our jail and prison officials should have a “safety relief valve” available to them where they can divert individuals who have been incarcerated because of their mental illnesses and obtain appropriate treatment for them.

Providing Representation For All Health Care Professionals.

Our firm has represented a number of nurses, physicians and other health care professionals who provide care in jails and prisons, as well as in other government facilities and institutions. We routinely represent physicians, nurses and advance practice nurses who work for the VA, the Department of Health, the county, the military, the Indian Health Service and other government agencies. Although government employees may have personal immunity from civil suits, they are not protected against termination and other employment actions, complaints against their professional license, National Practitioner Data Bank reports, and other types of administrative actions; our firm represents them in all of these. The government is not going to represent you in these. Call us at the first sign of a legal problem.

To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Sources:

Mitchell, Kirk. “Mentally Ill inmate sues for negligence.” The Denver Post. (December 8, 2017). Web.

Mitchell, Kirk. “Psychotic Boulder jail inmate gouges out own eyes, sues county for negligence.” The Denver Post. (December 7, 2017). Web.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

KeyWords: Legal representation for government physicians, legal representation for government nurses, legal representation for mental health professionals, mental health defense attorney, legal representation of mental health counselors, mental health counselor defense attorney, legal defense of professional licensure cases, legal representation for Board of Nursing cases, legal representation for Board of Medicine cases, Board of Nursing investigation defense attorney, legal representation for peer review, legal representation for administrative actions, legal representation for health care professionals, legal representation for psychiatrists, psychiatrists defense attorney, defense counsel for mental health professionals, health care lawyer, The Health Law Firm reviews

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.Copyright © 2017 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

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