Court backs $140K damages for ex-inmate who broke his neck
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal court has rejected a Tennessee county's bid to block $140,000 in damages awarded to a former inmate who suffered a broken neck in jail that went undiagnosed and untreated for 70 days.
The Knoxville News Sentinel quotes in a Tuesday report the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that rejected Knox County's bid to block the money for 63-year-old Donald Ray Nichols. He broke his neck when he rolled off his cell's top bunk and fell onto a concrete floor in 2010.
The ruling says the county alone can be held responsible for Nichols' claims that targeted its missteps in running the jail.