OMEN
01-20-2011, 01:17 AM
A New York man who claims a rat bit his penis while he was in prison has been given permission to sue officials.
Peter Solomon, who said he later had to endure a course of rabies jabs, says jailers knew the ward in which they placed him was infested with rodents.
Lawyers for Nassau County sought to have the suit dismissed. Among other arguments, its experts said they saw no evidence of serious injury, reports the BBC.
Mr Solomon was jailed in the Nassau County Correctional Centre, near New York City, in 2007 pending trial on charges he had menaced his wife.
The Vietnam veteran, who says he suffers post traumatic shock disorder, was transferred to a medical observation unit amid worries he was mentally ill.
He claims a rat "or similar rodent" emerged from a hole in his mattress one night and bit him on the penis and hand, drawing blood.
Mr Solomon, who is in his 50s, claimed the county was indifferent to his treatment and failed to protect him from the vermin, and sued for damages.
County officials disputed that a rodent problem existed in the jail, and said the wound did not require stitching and that his injuries were psychological.
But Judge Arthur Spatt ruled that Mr Solomon can proceed with his negligence claim for compensation.
Orange
Peter Solomon, who said he later had to endure a course of rabies jabs, says jailers knew the ward in which they placed him was infested with rodents.
Lawyers for Nassau County sought to have the suit dismissed. Among other arguments, its experts said they saw no evidence of serious injury, reports the BBC.
Mr Solomon was jailed in the Nassau County Correctional Centre, near New York City, in 2007 pending trial on charges he had menaced his wife.
The Vietnam veteran, who says he suffers post traumatic shock disorder, was transferred to a medical observation unit amid worries he was mentally ill.
He claims a rat "or similar rodent" emerged from a hole in his mattress one night and bit him on the penis and hand, drawing blood.
Mr Solomon, who is in his 50s, claimed the county was indifferent to his treatment and failed to protect him from the vermin, and sued for damages.
County officials disputed that a rodent problem existed in the jail, and said the wound did not require stitching and that his injuries were psychological.
But Judge Arthur Spatt ruled that Mr Solomon can proceed with his negligence claim for compensation.
Orange