Prisoner Receives $15,000 in Eye Loss Negligence Suit
The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) paid $15,000 to settle a negligence lawsuit alleging officials at FCI-Lompoc in California failed to provide a prisoner medical treatment, resulting in blindness in his left eye.
When prisoner Sheldon Woods entered FCT-Lompoc in September 1998, he suffered from an eye condition known as “keratoconus.”
Prior to his imprisonment, he was treated by a doctor for the condition, and he brought documentation from that doctor stating the name and nature of the condition, as well as the medication prescribed to treat it, and presented it to prison officials.
They, however, failed to prescribe the medication, and Woods’ condition worsened. “After his eye conditioned exacerbated,” Woods was sent to see a “private physician.” That doctor informed prison officials that Woods’ condition “required regular medical examinations and needed to be treated with prescribed medication or his condition would worsen and he would lose vision in his eye.”
No treatment was provided and Woods’ lost vision in his left eye. The court approved the settlement between the parties on December 2, 2007, which paid Woods $11,250 and his attorney, Phillip C. Wing, $3,750 in fees. See: Woods v. United States, USDC, C.D. California, Case No CV-01-05945.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
Related legal case
Woods v. United States
| Year | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC, C.D. California, Case No CV-01-05945. |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 15,000 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |