Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendants-prison doctors’ motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-prisoner’s section 1983 action alleging that defendants were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs by delaying treatment on his infected toenail and fractured jaw. Remand was required, where Dist. Ct. improperly refused plaintiff’s request for recruitment of legal counsel under circumstances where plaintiff had moved to Arizona prison, had limited access to legal materials, had limited education and no litigation experience and was in need of medical expert to establish his claim. Record also showed that plaintiff was never able to obtain full set of medical records regarding his jaw injury and was never able to retain counsel through his own efforts. Ct. further noted that plaintiff had raised potentially valid 8th Amendment claim due to continuing nature of his jaw injury.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Prisoners