Posted on 01/01/2014 7:47:00 AM PST by Rusty0604
A woman has filed suit against the police department that injured her arm during her arrest and then ignored her increasingly poor medical state — eventually costing her an arm.
Needham claimed that police surprised her while she was in the bathroom, tasered her and applied arms bars and wrist locks...
Needham spent one week in Allegheny County Jail, during which she asked to see a doctor 16 times. Belatedly, she was taken to a hospital, where doctors amputated her arm at the elbow.
Needham had a minor criminal record. Earlier this year, she plead guilty to resisting arrest, simple assault and disorderly conduct.
The lawsuit alleges cruel and unusual punishment, excessive force, battery and negligence. Needham is seeking $75,000 in damages.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
$75,000 dollars????????
She either has a bad lawyer or a bad case, this should be in the millions.
I'm going with bad case.
What was she doing in the bathroom when police surprised her ?
That’s what I’m thinking. Maybe a typo?
I don’t care if she was eating human flesh! This woman should have got millions!
Not enough to ask for this treatment by those who are supposed to “protect and serve.” But the taxpayers should pay this penalty for employing thugs like this at their police dept.
A much better system would be that the individuals who caused the injury, that denied her 16 requests to see a doctor, and their supervisors would have to pay the penalty. This system would also make these lawless employees a lot more careful.
Horrible. I hope she wins.
Ping
$75,000 dollars????????
She either has a bad lawyer or a bad case, this should be in the millions.
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The local story in the P-G on this states Ms. Needham is suing for “more than” $75,000. “more than” was apparently edited out.
There are a lot of local lawsuits that like to phrase it in this way- might have something to do with Pennsylvania tort law and the way the papers are drawn up.
Her attorney, Marvin Leibowitz, said she was the subject of a warrant because she missed a preliminary hearing on a charge that was ultimately reduced to disorderly conduct.
When sheriff’s employees arrived, Ms. Needham said she was using the bathroom, but they broke down the bathroom door, according to the complaint. They shocked her with a Taser, applied arm bars and wrist locks, and put on handcuffs “that were too tight,” the complaint said.
I believe that is the minimum. In my opinion, it is still low though. The ones that denied her medical treatment should get long prison terms. And believe it or not, there was those who defended them on the other thread. It was in a back handed way though.
I would say shitting or pissing. The same thing most people use the bathroom for.
This is just one reason that health care costs go through the roof. Some dip wad lawyer got a hold of this woman (who obviously doesn’t like the police to begin with). Medically the amputation has nothing to do with her being cuffed and put in jail. This is insanity that will continue until we do something about shyster lawyers
she has both a bad case and a bad lawyer… amputation is not the solution for so called compartmental syndrome….
not if what she claims is false…. you are so darned quick to blame the police. this is the classic version of the slip and fall case…. this woman’s amputation was not due to being hand cuffed.
In Pennsylvania, the plaintiff does not demand a specific amount of money as damages for a tort claim. A claim in excess of $75,000 means that the case will not be in the arbitration division, which is limited to claims of no more than $75,000.
or how about slip and fall lawyers be outlawed??? This is not a causal case. Just because you dislike the police does not make this woman’s claim or the law suit accurate. How about you find out a little bit more about her so called condition before you start making idiotic claims?
It sounds like she filed her case in Federal Court. One of the requirements for Federal Court jurisdiction in certain cases is that the "amount in controversy" be at least $75, 000. Thus, in the complaint attorneys routinely state that the damages "are in excess of $75,000" just to establish that the court does have jurisdiction to hear the claim. That doesn't mean the plaintiff is only seeking $75,000 in relief.
In some cases the initial amount of the suit is really a placeholder. They have to file to get it in the system and then they’ll work on the amount later. Thats the only thing that makes sense here.
Because it doesn’t matter why she was arrested or how many times she requested a doctor. All that matters is whether she lost her arm due to cause stated.
The jailers are lucky we are not in the Old Testament days... an arm for an arm.
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