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 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 […]