by Christopher Zoukis

 Carlos Quiroz, who alleged that he lost 80 percent of the vision in his left eye due to medical neglect while incarcerated in three different California prisons, agreed to a settlement with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and prison medical staff.

     Quiroz had been held in the California State Prison at Wasco, Lancaster and Corcoran since 2004. According to Quiroz, medical staff at each facility disregarded his previously prescribed medications for glaucoma, instead telling him that he only had a simple eye infection. He claimed that this resulted in the loss of more than 80 percent of his vision in his left eye. Quiroz maintained that a cornea transplant was necessary in order to possibly restore his lost vision, but that medical staff denied his request. In addition, the prison medical staff failed to properly diagnose and treat an ongoing kidney and urinary tract problem.

     On October 16, 2006, Quiroz filed a civil rights complaint in federal court, alleging that numerous wardens, doctors and medical staff subjected him to cruel and unusual punishment through their deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. He also claimed that he was discriminated against based on his vision impairment through their assignment to him of jobs that exacerbated his condition.

     On January 27, 2012, an agreement was reached between the parties, the terms of which were undisclosed.

See: Quiroz v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Case No. 1:06-cv-01426-AWI-DLB (Jan. 27, 2012)

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