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Eighth Amendment Violation – Deliberate-Indifference

By: Derek Hawkins//July 24, 2017//

Eighth Amendment Violation – Deliberate-Indifference

By: Derek Hawkins//July 24, 2017//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: James A. Lewis v. Angela McLean, et al.

Case No.: 16-1220

Officials: MANION and ROVNER, Circuit Judges, and COLEMAN,

District Judge.

Focus: Eighth Amendment Violation – Deliberate-Indifference

James Lewis, a Wisconsin prisoner, claimed in this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that staff at the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility violated the Eighth Amendment by delaying medical attention for a painful back condition and then using excessive force when eventually taking him to the hospital. Lewis also claimed that two of the defendants, a nurse and a physician, committed malpractice under state law. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants on the constitutional claims and relinquished supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law claim, and Lewis appeals. We conclude that a jury reasonably could find that two of the defendants were deliberately indifferent to Lewis’s serious medical need.

The district court’s judgment is VACATED to the extent that it grants summary judgment on the deliberate-indifference claim against Cichanowicz and McLean. On remand, the district court should consider whether to reinstate the medical- malpractice claim against McLean. The remainder of the judgment is AFFIRMED, and the case is REMANDED to the district court for further proceedings.

Affirmed in part, Vacated and Remanded in part

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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.

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