lawsuit against unfair treatment in jail clinic? and unfair arrest.

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lawsuit against unfair treatment in jail clinic? and unfair arrest.

husband has severe gun shot wounds to both legs and testicles. had court the day after he got of the hospital and i faxed a letter to his public defender excusing him from court. they came and arrested him today for failure to appear. he needs pain medication and antibiotics for his wounds and the jail clinic dosnt prvide them. and leg is not properly placed and needs bandages changed due to leaking from inside left thigh where a drain was.

Asked on May 8, 2009 under Criminal Law, Florida

Answers:

B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 14 years ago | Contributor

I'm not sure what kind of letter you faxed to the public defender, or who wrote it, but only the court itself has the power to excuse your husband from appearing when scheduled.  Unlike school or a job, a doctor's note isn't good enough all by itself.

While your husband is in jail, the jail has the obligation to provide him with adequate medical care.  The word is "adequate," not "good," and it is up to the jail to decide, at the first level, what is necessary.  Pain medication, in particular, tends to be a difficult subject, because many inmates try to get pain medication to get high.

However, if your husband does not get adequate medical care, that could be found to be cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of his civil rights.  He could pursue that claim under 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983, a federal civil rights statute, and sue the jail in either the state or federal court.

Civil rights cases are very complicated, and it is almost impossible to succeed with one without a lawyer.  You can find a lawyer at our website, http://attorneypages.com


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