What to do when deliberate indifference or failure to intervene results in an injury
The law prohibits jail and prison personnel from performing acts that go against the basic human and constitutional rights of persons in custody. Once you are behind prison doors, you’ve surrendered your liberty, but this doesn’t mean that you should also give up on your rights. If you or a loved one has been injured by a prison official, a civil rights lawyer can help you to take the necessary steps to protect your interests by suing for damages.
Acts of deliberate indifference
There are situations where a prisoner is denied medical treatment or treated inhumanely while in custody. For instance, if a prison official such as a Corrections Officer or medical professional is made aware of the prisoner’s serious medical condition but chooses to do nothing or delays in taking action, this may be considered deliberate indifference towards the inmate’s constitutional rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Every prisoner has a right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. For a deliberate indifference claim to be successful, your lawyer must prove that the prison officials in question knew that there was going to be a substantial risk of harm in doing nothing or in delaying action but disregarded this risk and in order to recover significant damages the lawyer also needs to establish that delay or denial of treatment has resulted in a worsened prognosis.
Some common situations that can help to prove that prison officials violated constitutional rights by taking no action or delaying action include:
- If the prisoner was facing excessive or prolonged pain
- If the prisoner was unable to participate in the usual day-to-day activities
- If the condition was one in which a reasonable person would seek medical attention
- If a reasonable doctor would have prescribed treatment
- If the inmate was complaining to prison officials about his/her medical condition
Prison officials may also be sued for deliberate indifference if they failed to follow a doctor’s orders on seeking further treatment. Other cases that may also lead to a deliberate indifference claim include denial of adequate food or water or intentional failure to administer medication as ordered by the doctor.
Failure to intervene
There are cases where fellow officers witness the violation of constitutional rights but fail to take action to protect the inmates. These officers can be sued or prosecuted for failure to intervene. In this case, the officers failed to stop the constitutional violation even though they had an opportunity to intervene but chose not to do so. Adequate proof must be provided to show this violation of the victim’s constitutional rights. This claim is often filed against supervisory prison officers who observe the use of excessive force without intervening as well as those who actively encourage these violations even though they do not directly participate in them.
When to file a lawsuit
Proving that prison officials were aware of the substantial risk to the prisoner’s health requires adequate circumstantial evidence. This evidence may include the prisoner’s deteriorated health, medical records, complaints, among others. With the help of a police brutality lawyer experienced in both civil rights law and personal injury law you may take the case to court for damages and get adequately compensated. Contact Edson Legal – personal injury lawyer in North York for FREE CONSULTATION at 1-855-702-3119