Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendant-prison official’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-prisoner’s section 1983 action alleging that defendant was deliberately indifferent to plaintiff’s serious medical condition (i.e., lack of left hand) by failing to accommodate or otherwise take any action in his request for lower bunk-bed pass, where said failure led to plaintiff’s slip and fall 11 days later while attempting to climb down from top bunk. While Dist. Ct. found that defendant was not deliberately indifferent to plaintiff’s condition because defendant had no authority to issue lower bunk pass, plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to create triable fact on deliberate indifference issue, where record showed that others in prison had authority to issue lower bunk-bed pass, and, according to plaintiff, defendant had failed to make any effort to alert said personnel to allow him to obtain said pass.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Prisoners