8th Amendment violation – Deliberate Indifference

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Derrick Echols, Jr. v. Frederick A. Craig

Case No.: 14-1829

Officials: EASTERBROOK, KANNE, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges

Focus: 8^th Amendment violation – Deliberate Indifference

Derrick Echols, an Illinois in‐ mate, claims in this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that prison dentist Dr. Frederick Craig (an employee of Wexford Health Sources) violated the Eighth Amendment by providing dental care with deliberate indifference to Echols’ serious health needs. While Dr. Craig was extracting a wisdom tooth, a drill bit broke. Dr. Craig sutured Echols’ gum with gauze and at least one half‐inch long piece of the broken bit still inside, where it caused pain for about two weeks before it was finally removed. Knowledge is the key issue in this lawsuit. Echols alleges that Craig sutured the extraction site after intentionally packing it with non‐soluble gauze and without first locating the missing shards from the broken drill bit. The district court screened Echols’ operative complaint, see 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, and dismissed it with the explanation that Echols’ allegations are factually frivolous. On appeal, we conclude that Echols’ allegations are quite plausible and state a claim for violation of the Eighth Amendment. We vacate the judgment and remand for further proceedings.

Vacated and remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.