Alvin F. de Levie recently obtained a confidential resolution for a quadriplegic who alleged his quadriplegia was caused by the deliberate indifference and negligence of prison medical staff who responded to a fall that injured his neck days before he would have been released from prison. The client alleged had basic and proper medical care been provided, the client would not have ended up as a quadriplegic but would have recovered and maintained the use of his arms and legs.  

 

Alvin’s client was incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Fayette when he fell head-first onto the floor because his feet became entangled in a sheet as he tried to jump off. Department of Corrections LPN’s responded to his cell. The client claimed the DOC LPN’s “log-rolled” him onto a canvas stretcher and carried him out of his cell and down a set of stairs without his neck being stabilized, without a collar or brace being applied, and without his neck being held in place. The client claimed he was also transferred through the prison yard to triage without proper cervical stabilization.

 

Alvin’s client also alleged he was strip-searched and re-dressed in triage, during which his neck was also not properly stabilized by either a DOC nurse or the triage doctor employed by Wexford Health. Walker alleged neither the triage doctor, nor an attending DOC nurse, sought waiver, pursuant to DOC policies and procedures, of the strip search requirement.

 

The client claimed the actions of the DOC nurses and triage doctor exacerbated a C5 burst fracture, causing his quadriplegia. He alleged violations of his civil rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments pursuant to 42 U.S. Code § 1983 for deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, as well as medical negligence claims against the DOC nurses, the triage doctor and Wexford Health. The client also made a claim of corporate negligence against Wexford Health. The Defendants defended the case on the theory that the client’s injuries were caused entirely by his fall from the bunk.

 

In support of his client’s case, Mr. de Levie obtained world-class experts in the fields of spinal surgery, prison nursing standards, the treatment of patients with quadriplegia, life care planning and economics.

 

This was a ground-breaking resolution in a case that took six years to achieve. The defense of the case was contentious and constant from the beginning.  The litigation of this case involved over thirty depositions, voluminous Motions for Summary Judgment, dozens of Pre-Trial Motions, and countless hours of research and preparation.  The defense mounted a fresh attack at every single step, and every achievement in the case was hard-won. Alvin fought every inch of the way, right up to the day of settlement, which occurred on the courthouse steps after a Jury had been selected and after Videotape Trial Depositions of important causation experts were taken.  

 

The confidential recovery will be used to provide ongoing support, medical care, and living arrangements for Alvin’s client.