Court to Decide Extent of Liability for Immigrant’s Delayed Cancer Treatment
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case of Francisco Castaneda, a Salvadoran immigrant who died in custody after the U.S. government delayed treatment for what turned out to be penile cancer.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. At issue is whether medical officials are personally liable for Castaneda’s death.
The U.S. government argues the officials are exempted from personal liability because of protections under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The law also bars punitive damages and jury trials, the AP story says. The government argues the law is the exclusive remedy, in a petition for certiorari (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog). Castaneda’s estate also sued for a constitutional violation under Section 1983.
“The case could have far-reaching implications for doctors, nurses and other medical personnel working for governments,” AP says.
A federal judge had called the case “one of the most, if not the most, egregious Eighth Amendment violations the court has ever encountered.” For 11 months the officials had ignored recommendations for a biopsy made by several physicians. Castenda spent time in prison and in immigration custody.
The cases are Migliaccio v. Castaneda, and Henneford v. Castaneda.
