McDowell v. Brown.

• Position: EX-OFFENDERS - Brief Article

U.S. Appeals Court

CLAIMS

McDowell v. Brown, 392 F.3d 1283 (11th Cir. 2004). A former inmate of a county jail brought a [section] 1983 Eighth Amendment action against a county, alleging improper failure to treat his emergency medical condition. The inmate also asserted negligence claims against the jail's health services subcontractor and against a nurse employed by the subcontractor. The district court dismissed the claims against the subcontractor and nurse and the inmate appealed. The appeals court affirmed. The court held that the county jail's staffing problems, allegedly resulting from the county board's custom of inadequate budgeting for the sheriff's office and jail, did not satisfy the "custom or policy" requirement of the inmate's [section] 1983 action. The inmate...