County Held Accountable for Violating Inmate's Civil Rights

Our client, Dylan Downey, walked with the aid of a prosthetic leg after suffering severe injuries in a motorcycle accident. While in jail in Snohomish County, Washington, Mr. Downey lost weight, which caused his prosthetic leg to fit poorly. The poor fit damaged the tissue of his residual limb and caused him pain and discomfort. County officials did not schedule medically indicated follow-up care; instead, they insisted that Mr. Downey "fix" the problem himself—first by stuffing the prosthetic with sanitary napkins and gauze and then by modifying it himself, in his cell, slicing the prosthetic sleeve with an ersatz saw so that it might fit his leg. The rough edges of the altered prosthetic scraped and cut his leg when he walked. After Mr. Downey filed grievances about his treatment, the county confiscated the prosthetic and gave him a wheelchair instead. Although Mr. Downey filed a federal civil rights lawsuit pro se, a federal judge saw sufficient merit in the case to ask DWT to take it on pro bono. The team of John Goldmark, Chris Morley, and Ben Robbins secured a settlement payment of $50,000 to our client and stipulated conditions for his treatment should he be readmitted to Snohomish County Jail. "We are very glad to have obtained some compensation for Mr. Downey," says Chris. "We also hope the settlement will ensure that other people receive adequate medical care when they are incarcerated."