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Articles in Verdict1

Ohio County Jail Settles Sex Suit for $30,000

On September 14, 2006, Medina County, Ohio agreed to settle a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit by a woman who claimed that she was sexually exploited by guards.

Tammy DeCosta sued Medina County after Kathy Hastings, a guard at the Medina County Jail, allegedly sexually abused DeCosta during DeCosta’s two-and-a-half ...

New York City Agrees to Pay $97,500 to Settle Deliberate Indifference Suit

On March 14, 2008, the City of New York agreed to settle a lawsuit stemming from the assault of a prisoner under the direction of a guard.

Schmi Caballero was brutally beaten by another prisoner with a broomstick after Caballero allegedly “disrespected” Rosemary Congress, a guard at Rikers Island. Congress ...

D.C. Prisoner Assaulted by Guard Settles Claim for $17,500

On February 24, 2004, plaintiff Emmett Spencer-El settled his federal 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against the District of Columbia, the D.C. Department of Corrections and guard C. Everett for $17,500.

Spencer-El claimed that on March 28, 2001, while in the custody of the D.C. DOC, he was physically assaulted ...

Washington Prisoner Paid $19,000 for Partial Loss of Toe

On September 14, 2007, the state of Washington paid $19,000 to settle with a prisoner who had a portion of his toe cut off while mowing grass at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. The suit, filed in Snohomish County Superior Court on March 13, 2006, sought compensation for ...

Washington Pays $12,000 for Slip on Ice at Probation Office

On December 17, 2008, the state of Washington paid $12,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who slipped on an iced-over puddle and fell onto the parking lot of a probation office in Marysville, Washington. As a result of the January 5, 2004 fall, plaintiff Pamela Trowbridge suffered ...

Washington DOC Agrees to Pay $1,000 to Prisoner Burned During Medical Test.

On April 28, 2006, the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) agreed to pay $1,000 to a prisoner who received substandard medical care.

Arthur Billups went in for medical treatment on December 28 and 29 for a test to determine how much light he could tolerate for a skin treatment. In ...

Illinois Jail Agrees to Pay $290,000 & Annuity Payments to Settle Excessive Force Suit

Illinois Jail Agrees to Pay $290,000 & Annuity Payments to Settle Excessive Force Suit

Tazewell County, Illinois has agreed to settle an excessive force suit for $290,000 and annual annuity payments.

Charles Chandler was taken to the Tazewell County Jail on November 6, 2006, after being arrested for aggravated battery ...

King County, WA Pays $125,000 for Assault on Juvenile Prisoner

Washington state’s King County has paid $125,000 to settle a claim that accused a guard of physically abusing a juvenile offender. The claim involved events that occurred on November 29, 2008 at the King County Jail.

The juvenile, Malika J. Calhoun, 15, said she was attacked in a holding cell ...

California Prisoner Settles Medical Suit for $35,000

Eighteen months after surviving a motion for summary judgment, California prisoner William Milton agreed to a settlement of $35,000 in a case involving denial and delay of medical treatment. Though unpublished, the district court’s March 2007 order denying defendants’ motion for summary judgment includes an insightful discussion of why, despite ...

GEO Group Prison Squalor Drives Idaho Prisoner to Suicide: $100,000 Settlement

On September 13, 2009, the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) reached a settlement with the parents of an Idaho state prisoner who was driven to suicide by squalid conditions at a GEO Group-run private prison in Texas, where he had been transferred. The IDOC agreed to pay the prisoner’s estate ...