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Author:  Margaret R.  Moreland, JD, MSLS.


Source: Volume 15, Number 02, January/February 2014 , pp.19-20(2)




Correctional Health Care Report

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Abstract: 

Michael R. Burns was a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) at Memphis, TN, in September of 2008 when he was diagnosed with a severe inguinal hernia. With an inguinal hernia, soft tissue protrudes through a weak point in the abdominal muscles. Although it is not dangerous by itself, it can be quite painful and can lead to life-threatening complications. Burns had reported at sick call that he was experiencing severe groin pain. He was examined by the medical director of the prison who noted the presence of an inguinal hernia that “requires immediate attention.” The situation went untreated for a long period of time and Burns came to file a complaint under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). This article discusses the course of that litigation, in which defendant’s motion to dismiss was rejected by the 6th Circuit. In another hernia case, plaintiff Gould was unable to substantiate a negligence case against the State Correctional Instiute at Rockview.

Keywords: inguinal hernia; Burns v. United States; Gould v. Wetzel;

Affiliations:  1: Pace University Law School.

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