Nature of Claims: This class action challenged the denial of adequate medical care in violation of the Eighth Amendment to prisoners at Green Haven Correctional Facility. A consent judgment was entered settling the case, but it was followed by repeated contempt and other enforcement proceedings resulting in renegotiation of the judgment, including added provisions concerning HIV care and the Unit for the Physically Disabled.
Current Status: After defendants requested termination of the judgment, the parties agreed that the medical auditor provided for by the judgment would prepare a report on current conditions. In mid-2006, he reported that generally the defendants were in compliance with the judgment, or would be if the auditor’s recommendations–such as getting rid of a particular doctor and establishing a functional chronic care recall system– were implemented. The doctor shortly afterward left Green Haven, though the reasons are unclear.) We have also discovered that in the prison’s Unit for the Physically Disabled, renovations to make the cells wheelchair accessible resulted in cell doors that could not be closed, so now only those wheelchair-using prisoners who are completely non-ambulatory are allowed in the UPD, resulting in the exclusion of prisoners who are less impaired but nonetheless require an accessible living environment. PRP has proposed an extension of the auditor’s term to address these and other remaining issues, and awaits the State’s response.
Persons Affected: About 2,000 prisoners held at Green Haven Correctional Facility.
Reported decisions: None.