In 2011, 4,238 inmates died in state prisons and county jails across the country. Of those, 21% (885) occurred in local county and municipal jails. The overwhelming claim by authorities and prison officials is that individual died due to illness or “pre-existing conditions.” Notably, 40% of the jail deaths occur within the first seven days of incarceration.
If you are looking at this webpage, your loved one has likely died or been seriously injured in the Illinois Department of Corrections or a local county jail. Our office offers its heartfelt sympathies for your loss as you seek for closure and justice.
The first step in this process to find civil rights lawyers and wrongful death attorneys who have the knowledge and experience necessary to help you and your family secure the compensation for your loss. If your loved one has been seriously injured or died in custody, the lawyers at the Noll Law Office wish to speak with you about aggressively pursuing those responsible.
Our office represents families of the deceased on Wrongful Death claims, Failure to Provide Medical Attention, and Jail/Prison Suicides throughout Illinois.
Failure to Provide Medical Attention
In Estelle v. Gamble, the United States Supreme Court recognized that prisoners had a Constitutional Right to adequate medical care. In fact, prisoners are entitled to the same level of medical care as anyone else in Illinois or the United States of America.
The Supreme Court stated that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is violated when prison officials display “deliberate indifference to serious medical needs of prisoners.” Thus, the Supreme Court has stated that two items must be present.
First, the prison officials (warden, guards, nurses, doctors) must act with deliberate indifference. Deliberate indifference is the conscious or reckless disregard for another’s Constitutional Rights. Some examples of deliberate indifference include failing to provide any medical care over a substantial period of time, providing inadequate medical care, delaying treatment with the intent to harm the inmate, and knowingly interfering with medical treatment (not carrying out the doctor’s orders).
The other requirement the Supreme Court promulgated in Estelle v. Gamble is that there must be a “serious medical need.” Serious medical needs include a serious injury or illness, mental health condition (suicidal tendencies), dental condition, expected medical problem, and a medical emergency.
If your loved one died due to the negligence or deliberate indifference of medical staff, doctors, jailors, prison administrators, or anyone else at their prison facility, please contact our lawyers immediately at (217) 414-8889.
