Colwell v. Bannister, et al., No. 12-15844 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, an inmate, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights when prison officials were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs in refusing him cataract surgery to restore his vision. The court held that blindness in one eye caused by a cataract is a serious condition. The court also held that the blanket, categorical denial of medically indicated surgery solely on the basis of an administrative policy that "one eye is good enough for prison inmates" is the paradigm of deliberate indifference. Accordingly, the court reversed the grant of summary judgment in favor of prison officials and remanded for trial.
Court Description: Prisoner Civil Rights. The panel reversed the district court’s summary judgment and remanded for trial in an action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by a Nevada state prisoner who was denied cataract surgery because of a Nevada Department of Corrections policy under which cataract surgery is refused if an inmate can manage to function in prison with one eye. The panel held that blindness in one eye caused by a cataract is a serious medical condition. The panel further held that the blanket, categorical denial of medically indicated surgery solely on the basis of an administrative policy that “one eye is good enough for prison inmates” is the paradigm of deliberate indifference. Dissenting, Judge Bybee stated that he would hold that the respondents were not deliberately indifferent to plaintiff’s alleged serious medical needs because plaintiff did not meet the difficult legal burden of showing a purposeful act or failure to respond to a prisoner’s pain or possible medical need and harm caused by the indifference.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.