Many incarcerated individuals get crappy medical care and want to make a deliberate indifference claim, hang on a moment and I’ll give you the three things that you need to know regarding deliberate indifference claims.
Prisons and jails are required to give medical care, however, crappy medical care is okay if you’re looking at a constitutional claim (deliberate indifference to a serious medical need).
Here are the three things you need to know about deliberate indifference claims.
Deliberate indifference claims are constitutional law claims, which flow through the 8th Amendment for folks in the prison system and the 14th Amendment for folks in the jail system.
Deliberate indifference claims are not state law medical malpractice claims. In a medical malpractice claim, the standard is negligence, showing that the healthcare provider deviated from the applicable standard of care. In a deliberate indifference claim, the standard is higher than negligence and comes close to an intentional act. You have to show that you have an objective serious medical need and that the healthcare provider demonstrated subject intent to disregard your problem. Because of the standard in deliberate indifference claims (negligent or crappy medical care is okay). Therefore, a disagreement over the proper medical care, proper medication or clinical judgment is also okay, and will never sustain a deliberate indifference claim.
So if you believe that you are a victim of deliberate indifference, you must be diligent in documenting the ways in which you believe the medical department and individual healthcare providers have failed you. If you cannot document specifics, your claim will fail and will never get to a jury.
If you have any questions about a deliberate indifference to a serious medical need claim, call 352-267-9168