Medical neglect cases in jails and prisons are some of the most complex cases we handle, and also some of the most interesting.
They sit at the intersection of medicine, civil rights, and government accountability, and they require careful evaluation of both state and federal claims.
Navigating State Claims Against Counties and Contractors
On the state claims, you may be dealing with medical negligence by providers (whether employed by private contractors or government entities), or ministerial-duty violations by county employees (such as deputies acting as jailers).
You may have regular state law medical malpractice claims, or other claims for intentional torts or ordinary negligence.
When the State itself is involved, the analysis shifts again, limiting claims to the State Tort Claims Act.
Federal Claims: The Deliberate Indifference Standard
On the federal side, constitutional violations always carry a much higher standard than ordinary negligence. These claims arise under the Fourteenth Amendment for pretrial detainees and the Eighth Amendment for convicted inmates.
The Eleventh Circuit still evaluates both under the same subjective deliberate indifference standard, but there’s an active circuit split on whether pretrial detainees should instead be protected by an objective reasonableness standard. To preserve this issue, it’s important to plead and argue violations under both objective and subjective standards in Fourteenth Amendment cases.
The Human Reality Behind the Law
What makes these cases especially meaningful, though, is that they’re not just intellectually challenging. They’re deeply human.
We’re representing vulnerable people who are entirely in government control and cannot advocate for themselves. Many are incarcerated for legitimate reasons. But that doesn’t strip them of their humanity or their right to basic medical care.
Seeing the person underneath all the imperfections is humbling and grounding. It reminds me of what it means to be a human being, how to see the dignity in every person, and the inherent value of human life.
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