U.S. District Judge Will Alsup has given the greenlight to a San Quentin, Calif., prisoner's lawsuit alleging he went without food for a month after a botched dental procedure, according to the Mercury News.
Samuel Wells alleged his constitutional right to avoid cruel and unusual punishment was violated in 2018 when a dentist working at the San Quentin prison in which he is incarcerated mishandled his dental procedure. His lawsuit claims he faced an "explosion" of pain in his jaw, keeping him from eating for a month.
Mr. Alsup dismissed Mr. Wells' allegations against a San Quentin corrections officer and nurse in September, but allowed the suit to proceed against Kenneth Eifert, DDS.
In a response to Mr. Wells' suit, San Quentin attorneys wrote that "any injury to Plaintiff was caused by Plaintiff’s own conduct,” according to the Mercury News.
Mr. Wells’ suit had a settlement conference scheduled for Dec. 7, but no settlement has been reached.
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