Reyes v. Dart, No. 14-3441 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseA Cook County Jail pretrial detainee was attacked and stabbed. He cried out for help but was ignored by an unidentified guard standing 10-15 feet from him. The plaintiff regained consciousness three days later in a hospital, having suffered nerve damage and a fracture of an eye socket that may eventually cause blindness. He filed suit, alleging failure to create or enforce policies necessary to protect prisoners from attacks by fellow prisoners. Defense counsel sent the plaintiff, several letters, demanding that he sign a release to permit access to all of plaintiff’s health records since his 1977 birth, including records—of no apparent relevance to his case—relating to venereal disease, AIDS and HIV, and permitting disclosure to parties not connected with the attack, injuries, or resulting medical treatments. Although plaintiff suggested limiting the release to the hospital at which he was treated and that time period, the defense moved to dismiss for failure to prosecute. Without waiting for a reply and without any explanation, the court dismissed with prejudice and denied plaintiff’s motion for recruitment of counsel as moot. The motion had been pending for two months. The Seventh Circuit vacated, calling the dismissal “a miscarriage of justice.”
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on September 3, 2015.
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