KEVIN L BALLARD, 

PLAINTIFF 

v, 

TAGGERT BOYD 

SHANE THURMAN 

DR DANIAL DANAHER 

DEFENDANTS 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA -----------·· ffiilEO. 

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u. s. sistrncrcounr 

CASE NO <g: 23GV \7 cg!l}tSTRICT OF NEBRASKA 

2023 HAY -9 AH U,: OQ 

CIVIL COMPLAINT 

@FFlCE Of THE Qlffli\ 

COMES NOW the Plaintiff, and for this cause of action against the named 

Defendants hereby aililegas and averes the following: 

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 

1. The Plaintiff, Kevin 1 Ballard, hereinafter "Ballard," is animate 

housed within a facility under the custody and care of Nebraska Department of 

Correctional Services, hereinafter "NDCS," His current mailing address is P.O. 

BOX 22800 Lincoln Nebraska 68542. 

2. Defendant Taggert Boyd,,hereinafter "Boyd," was at all times revelent 

here to the Warden of the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center, hereinafter "DEC," 

and the Lincoln Correctional Center, hereinafter "LCC," His current mailing 

address is P.O. BOX 22800 lincoln Nebraska 68542. Beingr.sued in individual capacity. 

3. Defendant Shan'i~? Thurman, hereinafter "Thurman," is a counselor at DEC. 

His current mailing address is P.O. BOX 22800 lincoln Nebraska 68542. 1~einghsued 

in individual capacity. 

4. Defendant Dr Danial Danaher, hereinafter "Danaher," is a medicle practictioner, employed by NDCS and precticing at LCC. His current mailing address is 

P.O. BOX 22800 Lincoln Nebraska 68542. Being sued in individual capacity. 

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5. 5urisdiction is proper with this court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 

because the individual d~fendants are employees of a state agency and are therefor 

agents of the State of Nebraska. Venue is proper with this court, because the~ 

acts alleged herein_occurred in the State of Nebraska. 

6. · On or about the 6th day of June, 2019~ at 9:05 a.m. 9 Ballard was· -

attacked in the.recreation yard at DEC by another inmate and proceeded to defend .. himself. Unit staff called for back-up to b~eak up the altercation. When security 

staff arrived, chemical agents were deployed, and Ballard broke off from the· 

altercation and surrendered himself to staff. Before staff were able to place 

Ballard in restraints, pefendant Thuman grabbed Ballard forcefully I Tl:J.u~·. 

and 300 pounds whereas Ba:llard'~is 5 19" and 175 potinds~· 

Thurman,· IDST HIS MINO. and si~ed him to the ground, Ballard attempted to brace .. himself with his hand,·' and when he· hit the ground, his neck was jarred and he . . felt a painful cracking sensation in his hand. Ballard cried out that. his l_land '"'', .. _ 

was broken. Thurman became enraged, losing control of rwnself ~ He proceeded···to 

take hold of Ballardl;s ·head and slam it forcefully into the ground.· Other:-·staff 

restrained Thurman aDd removed.him from the area. Ballard was plac.ea in restraints 

and removed from the recreation yard. 

7. Ballard was taken to DEG'.s Specialized Nurc.ing Facility, hereinafter 

"SNF ," Ballard spoke with the attending nurse and advised t~t he believed ithat 

he sustained a broken hand, and that he sustained a head injury as a result of 

having his bead slannned into the ground by lhurman. Ballard requested to be seen· 

by Doc.tor Haustead, who had been treating Ballard for unrelated medical conditions. 

The Sl>lF nurse advised tlμit there were no doc.tors on sight to treat him. No xrays were taken, and no scans were done to dete'Olline the extent of Ballards injuries. Ballard was placed in a holding c.ell for several hours without treatment. Ultimately, DEC staff restrained Ballard and escorted him to LCC to be 

(2) 

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8. Following his transfer to LCC, Ballard continually requested medic~l 

treatment from LCC staff. Ballard was told that he must wait, because medical " I • 

staff were not available to. see him. On or about th~ 9th day of June, 2019, 

Ballard was finally taken to LCC medical department to be seen by Defendant 

Danaher, Danaher.did not order an x-ray of Ballard's hB.IJd. Danaher did not order 

a scan of Ballard's head. Nothing was--done to determine the true extent of Ballard's 

injuries. Banaher provided Ballard with an ice pack and ordered him to be re-turne:1 

to his cell. 

9. Ballard was held in segregation for ~pproxirnately twenty-0ne days. 

During that time, Ballard experienced bouts of severe nausea and verdigo_, resulting · 

in vomiting and excrusiating headaches. He.was unable to walk, and was' forced 

to utilize a wheel chair or walker to get around. Ballard. advised LCC st~f _-of .. 

these symptems, but he received no medical attention •. 

10. On or about ~e 27th day of June, 2019, Doctor Ho~stead discover~d 

Ballard I

s condition. Boustead irnmediat~ly. ordered that Ballard be taken to the 

emergency department at Bryan West Hospital. BallB.3;d was seen by a medical prac-

. ticioner at Bryan West Hospital, and a scan was taken of Ballard's head on\l.yri .. :.1l!.ir 

Ballard was diagnosed with severe verdigo resulting from head trauma caused by 

having his head slanuned against the greund, Ballard was instructed to remain 

bedridden to ftase the symptems. Ballard was returned to LCC. Upon arrival at 

LCC, Doctor Houstead ordered that Ballard be transferred to DEC SNF for monitoring. 

_Doctor Houstead then ordered an x-ray be taken of Ballard·' s hand. Upon review 

of the x-ray, it was determined that Ballard had sustained a fracture of his 

fifth metacarpal, and that the fracture had not properly healed. No action was 1 

taken to correct· the problem. Despite Doctor Houst:ead Is additional attention, -· 

Ballard~s condition did not improve. Ballard continued to experience severe· 

(3) 

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bouts of dizzieness and nausea. He remained confined to a·wheelchair or 

forced to uti~ized a wal~er to get around. Ballard also begain to ezperience 

extreme paine in his hand resulting fro~ the improperly healed fracture. 

As simple as a broken band might seem.if it was your dominent hand things 

could get quite tricky. Ballard has had to train himself how· to use his right 

hand and simple things like tieing; shoe very di~ficult; wipping ones behind 

was probably the hardest task. But having to write has been the most discouring. Plaintiffs left hand needs fixed it looks horable. 

11. "· f!'o Bate NDCS staff have done nothing. to cure ~r treat the verdigo 

that Ballard experiences on a daily basis. He continues to experience dizziness 

and nausia. To date NDCS staff have done no~hing or taken any action ·to rep~ir• 

the _damage to Ballards hand, He·continues 

his range of motion is severly hendered. 

, to ·experience constant paine, and 

12. Additionally, NOSS staff.~ve ·confinscated Ballard's wheelchair 

and forced him to use a walker, wich serves only to ~asperate.his condition 

Ballard has experienced numerous falls, resulting in· further injuries. 

To date, NDCS has done nothing to cure or tr~at the verdigo that Ballard experiences 

on·a daily basis. 

13. NDCS records indicate that Danahar has been the subject of numerious 

complaints for f~iling to properly respond to or treat inmate injuries. He has been 

demonstrating deliibrat~ indefrence to Ballards and other inmates medicle needs 

by routi'enly refusing to order tests that the American Medicle Association deems nessar) 

for the treatment of patience. Specifically, Danahar was deliberatly indifferent:. 

to Ballards needs1_,((0FFICIAI..¥) .when he refuse~ to ~ee Ballard in a tirnly ~nner, . ., 

despite the serious nature of his injuries and the resulting symptems. 

He was further dellibretely indifferent to Ballards needs when he failed to 

order approprate testing upon seeing Ballard. 

(4) 

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FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION 

DELI~RAr.E INDIFFERENCE 

14. NDCS records indicate that at the time of Ballards injuries and 

treatment DEC'.:held a inmate population in excess of design capacity by no more 

then one-hundred and twenty persent (120)~,LCC held a inmate population in excess design 

by no less then ninty persent (90)%. DEC and LCC medicle departmentewas understaffed 

by no less then fourity persent (40)%. And DEC and LCC's medicle Department was under-:":,, 

staffed by no less then sixty persent (60)%. Taggert Boyd was at all times the warden 

of both these prisons so he new first hand what his staff and medicle department was 

facing but failed to read the warning signs. Even though he was under alot of pressure 

by the ACLU and various other intities he just would not remedy the problem he was De]L 

ibrate Indifferent to not only the whole prison population including Ballard but he was 

also indifferent to his own staff. The eigth amenment also protects the incarserated 

from this kind of treatment. 

15. Boyds actions in failing to protect Ballard from Thurman likewise violate 

the Eigth Amendment, because boyd new thatLboth his prisons were busting out of the seems. 

And just the fact that Boyd was so short staffed that a loutinent and a case manajor had 

to be called to a physical altercation just shows how understaffed and overcrowded both 

his prisons were. Although Boyd was under alot of pressure he could have remedied the 

problem by just keeping the prison population down and making sure both his prisons had 

had there own security teams. Boyd new of all these problems but chose to look the other 

way. 

SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION 

EXCESSIVE FORCE 

16. The Eigth Amenment prohibits the unessary:and wanton infiction of paine. 

17. Thurmans actions were not nessary to his duties in breaking up the fight 

between Ballard and the other inmate, because other staff had already gained controle 

of the altercation threw the the use of chemicle agents. Ballard had already seased 

his defensive stance tward the other inmate and was in the process of surrendering 

himself to staff. And out of nowere Thurman came and tackled Ballard from behind and 

took him to the ground. After that Thurman while Ballard was defensless and on all 

(5) 

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rours Thurman took Ballards head and smashed it into the concrete. It served no 

purpose but to inflict paine and cause harm. 

THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION 

INADEQUATE MEDICLE CARE 

18. The Eigth Amenment protects Ballard from Delibrate indifference to 

objectively serious medicle needs. 

19.Ballard experienced an objectively serious medicle need as a result 

of Thurmans actions, wich Defendant Danahar was delibretly indifferent to. 

Ballard was slambed to the ground by a gigantic staff member. His head was then 

slambed into the ground ,.forcefully. Ballard complained to Danahar that his hand 

was broken, and it was reported· to Danahar that Ballard. ·had be.en vomiting when 

attempting to stand. These symptoms and the set of facts surrounding cause are so 

obvious that even a layperson could easily recognize the need to attend to the injuries 

by conducting the de minus of testing to discover the extent of the injuries. Danahar 

did not order any scans ot X"'."'tays•. t6'. determin if Ballard experienced any fractures 

to either his hand or his head. He did not order scans of Ballards head to determin 

if Ballard experienced an:unseen braine injury. Danahar disregarded all the warning 

signs, to wit, vomiting, dizzieness, and headache, wich indicate tramatic braine injury. Danahar disreg~rded these known risks to Ballards health. Danahar was not just 

negligent in his treatment of Ballard he knowingly brought on a substantial risk to 

Ballards health by allowing the braine injury to go on treated and allowing fractured 

hand to heal on its own without proper splinting. 

20. Danahars actions or inactions resulted in Ballard continuing to experience 

v,erd'fgo·; ;dizziness, frequent ,falls, and being confineg t.o us_i.:r;ig a wheelchair or a . . : . .:.•· . .''.. . . •r· 

walke·i:: · for mobility. Sill!ilary, Danahars actions or in~c ti_(!~!? resulted in Ballard 

loosing the full range bf motion to his dominent hand.·.: . .-· i.' 

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And also his inability to stand/and/or walk. Ballards injuries will result in 

'future paine and suffering in the form of further medicle intervention, such as 

re-breaking the hand in order to reset it, as well as in loss of income due to 

the range of motion in his hand and his inability to properly balance himself. 

PRAYER 

Ballard prayes for a judgment of monetary damages in excess of two million 

dollars from each of the named Defendants for paine and suffering, future medicle 

costs, and loss of future income as a result of the injuriesssustained and to come 

due to Thurmans excessive force, Boyds failier to protect, and Danahars delibrate 

indifference to his medicle needs; or in the amount wich the court deems just and proper 

under the law, together there with the cost of his litigation, any attorney fees or 

expenses, and any other costs determined at the trial of the matter. 

(7) 

R~TFULL~BW/r!!. 

~flir0~ 

:<KEVillN L BALLARD 80479 

Plaintiff prose 

P.O. BOX 22800 

Lincoln Ne 68542 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

COMES NOW, The Plaintiff in the~above entitled and forgiving cause of action 

and hereby certifies that a true and correct copy of his foregoing petition 

for Administrative Agency Review was served upon. 

Michael Hilgers,the attorney general of the state of Nebraska, by 

placing said copies in the United States mail, first class, postage prepaid, ;r:,~ 0 ~~~ 

addressed to: 

Michael Hilgers 

Nebraska Attorney General 

P.0. BOX 90920 

Lincoln Nebraska 68509-8920 

-,a-+J, A ·1 

on this .--L--- day of ------p .... r ........... l -------' 20 Z3 . 

~T/;/J;;;A 

P.O. BOX 22800 

Lincoln Nebraska 68542 

/ 

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Inmate Nam, KEVIN L BALLARD ~-ISt)--

lnm, _ 8,9479 __ _ 

.0. tl.> 22iJOG 

uncc.:n Nl' 0>8542-2800 

Not,<X, Thrs com,spooo.JnCb was rtl311oo from an 

ln.stltutroo opc'lilted bt tt,,, Nubra5"a Dvportmeot al 

Corroctions. Its cootents aro uncansoract. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

C/0 THE CLERK 

111 S 18th Plaza suite 1152 

OMAHA NEBRASKA 68102-1322 

RECclVED 

MAY O 9 2023 

G;,_£p,< 

U.S. DISTRICT COURT 

NEOPOST 

05/08/2023 $ i*i-1iM-ii-M:f 000. 81Q 

~ • ZJP68522 

• 041M10274603 

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