Home      Login

Abstract: 

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a plaintiff could continue to trial her suit claiming negligence on the part of custodial and health care staff of Wayne County Jail, Michigan: “neglecting to provide a prisoner with needed medication, intentionally scrubbing her wound to cause unnecessary pain, and failing to implement the prescribed plan of treatment could constitute a constitutional violation.” Our legal editor examines the facts of this case, in which a woman suffering from severe mental illness, set fire to herself while in a police cruiser, was taken to a local hospital where she was treated for burns and released back into police custody, then booked into the county jail, where, despite screening for mental and medical health issues and receiving some care for her burn wounds, began to deteriorate seriously. Poor recording keeping and questionable care exposed the jail staff to needless legal liability, as our editor explains.

Keywords: Psychiatric and medical distress

Affiliations:  1: Ohio Supreme Court Library.