Legal Pearl: Inmate Sues Doctor Over Injured Finger

As of 2016, there were 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States. These people, like everyone else, need health care. Some prisons and correctional facilities use private contractors to provide health services to inmates. This month’s case involves an inmate who successfully sued the doctor and nurses who treated him while he was in prison.

Clinical Scenario

The patient in the case was a 29-year-old man who was an inmate in a correctional center serving time for an armed robbery. On November 19, 2016, he was playing ball in the recreation yard when he fell and landed on his hand, hearing a loud popping sound. He immediately felt severe pain and his hand began swelling and bruising. He rushed to the correctional center’s medical unit. The nurse on duty contacted the on-call physician for guidance. The physician advised the nurse to give the patient an ice pack and Motrin, and to schedule him for an radiography on November 21, when the radiography technician would be back at work.

On November 21, the patient had radiographs taken of his hand. The radiology report was sent to the physician the next day. The report stated: “mildly displaced intra articular fracture of the dorsal base of the ring finger proximal phalanx (right hand) and mild proximal and ulnar displacement of the fracture fragment – joint spaces are preserved, soft tissues intact.” The physician signed off on the radiology report on November 22 but did not see or speak to the patient at that time.

On November 25 the patient submitted a complaint stating that he believed that he broke his hand on November 19 and yet had still not had medical treatment (beyond an ice pack and Motrin) and had not yet seen a doctor. “I am in a lot of pain and cannot sleep and I fear I could be disabled in my right hand if I do not get medical attention soon” said the complaint.
The following day he was seen by the nurse in the medical unit who gave him another ice pack and more Motrin, but he was not seen by a doctor. On November 28 the patient submitted an emergency grievance stating that he could not move his fingers and that this injury could disable him. Later that day he was told that his situation did not qualify as an emergency, and that an appointment with the doctor was pending (although he was allegedly not told when the appointment would be.” At this point his parents began calling the correctional facility to express their concern.

Two days later, on November 30, the patient was taken to see the physician. At this appointment the doctor reread the x-ray report and told the patient that it was positive that his joint spaces were preserved. The physician had the nurse put a splint on his hand.

Two weeks later, in mid-December, the patient filed another request, asking for a follow-up appointment with the doctor because he was concerned about his worsening finger and hand mobility. He finally saw the physician again on January 3, 2017. At this appointment, he told the physician that he could not use his right hand to do simple tasks like picking up a fork, that he could not grasp or make a fist with his right hand, and that his right ring finger stuck straight out and could not bend. He questioned whether there might be another problem with his hand, and he explained to the physician that he feared he would not be able to do the aviation maintenance job he had lined up for after his release that July. The physician told him that the hand needed more healing time, but the patient was adamant that he needed to see a specialist.

The physician finally agreed and told hiim he would try to get approval for an MRI and a visit with an outside orthopedic surgeon. In late January 2017, the patient was taken for an MRI which was reviewed by the physician on January 30. It wasn’t until March 2 that the patient was taken to see an orthopedic physician.

The orthopedist said that because his hand was not stabilized soon after it was broken it required surgery, and even with surgery his hand might be permanently damaged. Though the physician was given this information, he and the corrections facility did not schedule surgery until hiis parents began calling. Surgery did not take place until early July 2017 and the prognosis afterwards was poor. The patient was told he would have limited mobility and might need a finger amputation to regain the mobility in the hand. He sued the doctor, nurse, and correctional health services company which employed them.
 

NEXT: The Trial