Source: https://www.shouselaw.com/nevada/personal-injury/inmate-medical-neglect
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 07:06:27+00:00

Document:
Nevada prisoners have an Eighth Amendment right to adequate medical care, dental care, and mental health care. Inmates suffering from healthcare neglect or medical malpractice may bring a Section 1983 lawsuit against their jail or prison for violating their civil rights.
Depending on the case, the court may also order punitive damages as well as a reimbursement of attorneys' fees.
Inadequate health care for inmates qualifies as "cruel and unusual" punishment.
examinations as required by law or by court order.
The CCDC has faced allegations of inadequate health care.
The biggest jail in Clark County is the Clark County Detention Center (CCDC) in downtown, Las Vegas. The CCDC contracts with NaphCare, Inc. to provide medical and mental health services at both the CCDC's main facility and its North Valley Complex (NVC).
NaphCare is paid to provide medical and medication management, mental health care, and drug detoxification treatment. It also coordinates women's health care, emergency and radiological services, dialysis, and other services.
Prisons house people who have been convicted of a Nevada felony and are serving their sentences, which are typically a year or longer.
NRS 209 delegates the administration of prison inmates' health care to Nevada's Department of Corrections Medical Division. The Division's Medical Director and Medical Administrator manage the department's medical, dental, clinical mental health, and pharmacy services. The Medical Division also has a Nursing department and Central Pharmacy.
Nevada's larger prisons have medical clinics, dental clinics, and infirmaries. Two prisons have on-site acute care infirmaries. Primary care is provided in the prisons. Outside surgeons, cardiologists, and gastroenterologists periodically go to the prisons to provide care there. When off-site care is necessary, inmates are taken to community hospitals.
Nevada prisons pay below average health care costs per inmate.
Inmates often do not report injuries out of fear of retaliation.
Note that mild injuries or discomfort do not rise to the level of a serious medical need. Plaintiffs' attorneys often rely on expert medical witnesses to testify as to the seriousness of the plaintiffs' medical needs.
Typical evidence that can help demonstrate "deliberate indifference" includes eyewitness testimony, medical records, and surveillance video.
Inmates suffering medical neglect can sue their jail or prison.
If the court finds that the actions of the jail or prison officers to be particularly egregious, the court may order punitive damages. In many cases, punitive damages are much higher than compensatory damages. The court may also order that the defendants pay the plaintiff's attorneys' fees.
If you or a loved one suffered from medical neglect in a Nevada jail or prison, call our Las Vegas personal injury attorneys at 702-DEFENSE (702-333-3673) to consult for free. We may be able to file suit against the correctional system and fight for the largest settlement possible.
Also see our article on suing for police misconduct in Nevada.
Injured in California? See our article about suing for medical neglect of inmates in California.
U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment ("Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."); Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 103 (1976).
Hoptowit v. Ray, 682 F.2d 1237, 1253 (9th Cir. 1982); see NRS 211.140 & NRS 209.4889.
West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 57-58 (1988); Richardson v. McKnight, 521 U.S. 399 (1997).
Audit Report Clark County Detention Center Inmate Medical Care Contract April 2016.
State of Nevada Department of Corrections Medical Division.
Ben Botkin, Nevada gets low marks for inmate health spending, Las Vegas Review-Journal (November 6, 2017).
Nevada Prisoner Abuse Documentation Nevadacure.org; see Doty v. County of Lassen, 37 F.3d 540 (9th Cir. 1994)("Doty's mild stress-related ailments are the type of routine discomfort that may result merely from incarceration and the concomitant separation from one's family. A serious medical need requires an ailment of a greater magnitude or with a cause separate from confinement. Since Doty was not suffering from a serious medical need, no constitutional violation occurred.").
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976). ("An inmate must rely on prison authorities to treat his medical needs; if the authorities fail to do so, those needs will not be met. In the worst cases, such a failure may actually produce physical torture or a lingering death, the evils of most immediate concern to the drafters of the Amendment. In less serious cases, denial of medical care may result in pain and suffering which no one suggests would serve any penological purpose. The infliction of such unnecessary suffering is inconsistent with contemporary standards of decency as manifested in modern legislation codifying the common law view that it is but just that the public be required to care for the prisoner, who cannot, by reason of the deprivation of his liberty, care for himself. We therefore conclude that deliberate indifference to serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain, proscribed by the Eighth Amendment. This is true whether the indifference is manifested by prison doctors in their response to the prisoner's needs or by prison guards in intentionally denying or delaying access to medical care or intentionally interfering with the treatment once prescribed.") Note that although the Estelle decision set out the "deliberate indifference" standard, the majority did not feel that Gamble's particular claim could stand against medical staff (as opposed to prison administration). The court noted that medical negligence and malpractice was not tantamount to constitutional violation and that those claims were covered by state tort law.").
Martin A. Schwartz, George Cheny Pratt, Section 1983 Litigation: Jury instructions, Volume 4, 2017 Supplement.
Clement v. Gomez, 298 F.3d 898, 904 (9th Cir. 2002).
Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 836 (1994).
See, e.g., Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. at 104; Toussaint v. McCarthy, 801 F.2d 1080, 1112 (9th Cir. 1986); Jones v. Johnson, 781 F.2d 769, 771 (9th Cir. 1986).
See, e.g., Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982).

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