Sufficiency of Evidence

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Estate of Dennis Simpson, et al. v. Mark E. Gorbett

Case No.: 16-2899

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and BAUER and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sufficiency of Evidence

This case concerns the death of Dennis Simpson, an inmate who fell off an upper bunk while incarcerated in the Bartholomew County Jail for a drunken driving conviction. Simpson was intoxicated when he reported to the jail to serve his weekend stay, prompting officers initially to place him in a holding cell. After they thought he was sober they assigned him to an upper bunk in a two‐person cell, even though he was obviously obese. While sleeping, Simpson went into convulsions and fell off the bunk on to the hard concrete floor. He died from his injuries.

His estate sued six county employees—five officers and the sheriff—arguing that the conditions under which the jail kept Simpson and the care he received were inadequate under the Eighth Amendment. The district court found there was insufficient evidence to show the defendants were aware of, but disregarded, a risk to Simpson’s health and safety, and so granted them summary judgment. We affirm.

Affirmed

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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.