Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada Voulentters

Plaintiff, who is incarcerated in the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections (“NDOC”), has submitted a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In the Complaint, Plaintiff sues multiple defendants for events that took place while Plaintiff was incarcerated at Lovelock Correctional Center (“LCC”). Plaintiff filed an emergency grievance about the pain he was in because he used a catheter to urinate. It was well-known that it was medically proper to use a numbing solution when using a catheter. Plaintiff had well-documented prostate problems.  The doctor refused to order lidocaine for Plaintiff to use with the catheter. Plaintiff was in pain for ten months. The Court finds that Plaintiff states a colorable deliberate indifference to serious medical needs claim.  It is further ordered that given the nature of the claim(s) that the Court has permitted to proceed, this action is stayed for 90 days to allow Plaintiff and Defendant(s) an opportunity to settle their dispute before the $350.00 filing fee is paid, an answer is filed, or the discovery process begins. During this 90-day stay period and until the Court lifts the stay, no other pleadings or papers may be filed in this case, and the parties will not engage in any discovery, nor are the parties required to respond to any paper filed in violation of the stay unless specifically ordered by the Court to do so. The Court will refer this case to the Court’s Inmate Early Mediation Program, and the Court will enter a subsequent order.

Plaintiff, who is incarcerated in the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections (“NDOC”), has submitted a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In the Complaint, Plaintiff sues multiple defendants for events that took place while Plaintiff was incarcerated at Lovelock Correctional Center (“LCC”). Plaintiff filed an emergency grievance about the pain he was in because he used a catheter to urinate. It was well-known that it was medically proper to use a numbing solution when using a catheter. Plaintiff had well-documented prostate problems.  Dr. Adamson refused to order lidocaine for Plaintiff to use with the catheter. Plaintiff was in pain for ten months. The Court finds that Plaintiff states a colorable deliberate indifference to serious medical needs claim.  It is further ordered that given the nature of the claim(s) that the Court has permitted to proceed, this action is stayed for 90 days to allow Plaintiff and Defendant(s) an opportunity to settle their dispute before the $350.00 filing fee is paid, an answer is filed, or the discovery process begins. During this 90-day stay period and until the Court lifts the stay, no other pleadings or papers may be filed in this case, and the parties will not engage in any discovery, nor are the parties required to respond to any paper filed in violation of the stay unless specifically ordered by the Court to do so. The Court will refer this case to the Court’s Inmate Early Mediation Program, and the Court will enter a subsequent order.

Plaintiff, who is a prisoner in the custody of the Nevada department of corrections (“NDOC”), has submitted a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.  In the complaint, plaintiff sues multiple defendants for events that took place while plaintiff was incarcerated as a pretrial detainee at the Clark County Detention Center (“CCDC”). In count I, plaintiff alleges the following: classified plaintiff, a pretrial detainee, as “max status” to punish plaintiff. Under this classification, jail officials confined plaintiff to his cell for 23 hours a day on the weekdays and 48 hours for the weekends, denied plaintiff all programs, restricted plaintiff’s television viewing options, restricted visitation, and restricted commissary. Plaintiff had been in solitary maximum lock up for over 730 days. Two prison officials mailed plaintiff a letter sanctioning plaintiff to 60 days confinement which prohibited commissary and visitation. (Id.) This sanction caused extreme hardship because jail officials did not serve enough food to properly feed the inmates. (Id. at 23, 28). The officials sanction caused plaintiff to lose 70 pounds. (Id. at 28). Another officer also allegedly came into plaintiff’s cell and sexually assault plaintiff. (ECF No. 1 at 24). Officers slammed plaintiff backwards and injured plaintiff’s neck and head. (Id.) After plaintiff hit the concrete in handcuffs, the officers rolled plaintiff onto his back and stood on his back. In the meantime, plaintiff was suffocating from the officers on his back. (Id. at 42). After plaintiff returned to consciousness from the lack of air, the officer put a tazer in plaintiff’s mouth. When the officers stopped, plaintiff’s boxers were pulled down to his knees and the officers laughed at plaintiff as they walked away. (Id.) Plaintiff went into convulsions.

Client sues multiple defendants for events that took place while he was incarcerated at the CCDC. During the arrest, one of the officers told plaintiff to “take his hands out of his pockets.” When plaintiff complied, the officers pushed and tackled plaintiff to the ground and beat plaintiff’s face and upper body with their fists and metal batons. The officers tasered plaintiff and put him in a choke hold until he was unconscious. When plaintiff “came to,” the officers were still punching plaintiff and yelling “quit resisting.” During this time, officers yanked plaintiff’s right arm from its socket and dislocated plaintiff’s arm. The officers also fractured plaintiff’s shoulder bone. Plaintiff suffered a contusion and had cuts from head to toe. The officers had to take plaintiff to Spring Valley Hospital for shoulder relocation and x-rays because plaintiff’s face was black, blue, and green. At the hospital, the officers handcuffed plaintiff behind his back and in a four-point restraint causing “intense pain and suffering.” The officers took plaintiff to the hospital while handcuffing plaintiff in a manner that caused intense pain—level 9 pain out of 10—for hours while they mocked and laughed at plaintiff. The officers kept plaintiff handcuffed at each limb to opposite corners of the bed for hours. Plaintiff was not permitted to lie down, use the bathroom, get water, and was unable to feed himself because both arms were immobilized. The court interprets plaintiff as a pretrial detainee at the time of these events and analyzes plaintiff’s claims under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause. Plaintiff’s pain continues to this day and he has lost range of motion.

Plaintiff is seeking judicial review of the Social Security Administration’s denial of disability benefits on behalf of her minor son. She has informed the court that she is having a hard time retaining an attorney. Due to the difficulty she has faced with finding representation and her son’s recent hospitalization the court has referred the case to the pro bono program to assist the plaintiff with her complaint. The court has held that a parent cannot bring an action on behalf of a minor without retaining an attorney and she is unable to continue without assistance. The case has been at the US District Court, District of Nevada since March 5, 2020.

Applicant sues multiple defendants for events that took place while the applicant was incarcerated at High Desert State Prison (HDSP).  The complaint alleges the following: during the summer of 2016, the applicant  was housed in a cell block unit without functioning air conditioning or ventilation. The National Weather Association issued multiple excessive heat warnings during the summer of 2016, and on multiple occasions during that summer, the temperature in applicant’s unit exceeded 120 degrees. The applicant experienced heat exhaustion as a result of the conditions. NDOC staff worked on the ventilation unit while the applicant was in his cell.

The work on the ventilation unit created fumes and metal flakes that went into the plaintiff’s un-ventilated cell.  During the summer of 2016, the plumbing in the unit went out repeatedly. When the plumbing went out, raw sewage, including human waste, would gush under applicant’s cell door. NDOC staff refused to clean up the raw sewage and did not provide the applicant biohazard equipment to clean the sewage himself. As a result of the raw sewage, he has been diagnosed with hepatitis. During the summer of 2016, his unit was overrun with bugs. the Applicant was bitten by bugs over 100 times. NDOC staff promised him that they would provide him medical attention for the bug bites, but he never received any medical treatment. he  now has scars from the bug bites. The applicant alleges that the conditions of his confinement, namely the lack of air conditioning and ventilation (Count I), the exposure to human waste (Count II), and the bug infestation (Count III) violated the Eighth Amendment.