A Bronx jail inmate has accepted a $425,000 settlement after suffering serious injuries. In the lawsuit, the man alleges that jail guards chose to look the other way as a fellow inmate beat him twice. Following the beating and injuries, the man said that correction officers did not report his injuries. The incident happened in February 2015 at the Vernon C. Bain Center.
The lawsuit claims that correction officers told the victim to approach the man who beat him and confront him about smoking synthetic marijuana. Then, after he was beaten, the correction officers fabricated an incident report, saying that the inmate was injured in a slip-and-fall event.
Later, correction officers did not locate or discipline the attacker, who beat the man a second time several days after the first incident. The 41-year-old man required multiple surgeries for facial fractures he suffered as a result of the beating.
After filing and litigating the case, the city and the injured inmate eventually agreed to settle the matter. The attorney representing the inmate made a statement regarding the favorable result, saying that she hoped the lawsuit — and similar ones — would end in the city reforming its inappropriate and unlawful jail practices.
Inmates are mistreated every day in New York and throughout the nation. If you have a loved one who is currently suffering abuse or mistreatment in prison, it may be possible to help him. Consulting with a civil rights or personal injury lawyer who works in the realm of prisoners’ rights is a good way of seek the justice and restitution your loved one deserves.
Source: New York Daily News, “Man awarded $425,000 from city after claiming Bronx jail guards let fellow inmate beat him twice,” Dennis Slattery, Feb. 17, 2017