The woman suffered a night full of abuse. She claims that male corrections officers mocked her throughout the night and allegedly ordered her to bend over and spread her legs. One officer allegedly asked if she had anything tucked away. The officers refused to believe that she was a female. But now the Somerset resident has sued in Middlesex County Superior Court for both assault and battery as well as civil rights violations.
The incident stems from an arrest over a bench warrant for a shoplifting charge five months earlier. The plaintiff suffers from Type 1 diabetes and was taken to the jail psychiatrist for a panic attack she experienced caused by low blood sugar. When she was brought back to the female section of the jail, she was strip searched by a woman who told the plaintiff that she was a man. Her arrest records however, indicate that she is in fact female.
Following a traumatic 9-hour period in the men’s wing of the jail, she was taken from her cell and placed in the correct female section. The officer who moved her allegedly gave an apologetic statement to her. She has since moved to Florida where she continues to receive mental health treatment as a result of this incident.
Improper treatment and abuse in jails and prisons are more common than you may expect. Just because you are incarcerated at a correctional facility does not absolve the correctional facility from treating you in accordance with the law. Often times the facility is not maintained to a standard level of care and this can result in dangerous conditions for inmates that result in slip, falls, or other injuries.
If you have been injured as a result of negligent maintenance at a facility it is imperative that you call an attorney immediately to preserve your rights. When making a claim against a state or government institution a 90-day notice of claim requirement applies. This means that if you do not file your claim within 90-days, you cannot file a lawsuit against the state or government institution absent exceptional circumstances. The normal statute of limitations in New Jersey is 2-years for civil actions against private individuals or companies.
The law office of Druckman & Hernandez has handled thousands of injury claims including claims against correctional facilities. Our number is 908-353-5850. We only get paid if we recover money for you.