Record contained sufficient evidence to support jury’s $307,733.82 award in plaintiff-prisoner’s section 1983 action against defendants-prison guards, where plaintiff alleged that defendants used excessive force and then ignored his medical needs that caused him to incur crushed eye socket that resulted in him suffering double and blurred vision. Ct. rejected defendants’ argument that state-law sovereign immunity barred plaintiff’s state-law claims, where, as here, plaintiff established that defendants, as agents of State, had acted in violation of statutory (i.e., aggravated battery) and/or constitutional (i.e., 8th Amendment) law. Dist. Ct., though, erred in allocating only 10% of damages award to satisfy attorney fees award, where Prison Litigation Reform Act (42 USC section 1997(e)d) required that 25% of plaintiff’s damages award be applied to attorney fees award before defendants would be required to contribute more to fees award.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Prisoners