Livingston County Jail faces another lawsuit after ex-inmate claims inadequate medical treatment
The Livingston County Jail has been hit with another lawsuit.
A former inmate who is a diabetic claims he lost his toes due to poor treatment at the facility in 2021.
In the summer of 2021, Jon Messer was a passenger in a car that was pulled over for tinted windows, according to his attorney, Angelle Rothis.
"[The driver and Messer] ended up pleading and begging to let them go to the hospital to treat my client's toes. The Milford police refused."
Messer, who works as a laborer, had already lost some of his toes on both his feet due to diabetes.
"Being a physical laborer, believe it or not, a couple toes makes a big difference," said Rothis.
According to court documents, although Messer was not driving, his name was checked by officers, and they found a warrant for his arrest. He was taken into custody, where Rothis says Messer received inadequate care, which led to Messer losing the rest of his toes.
"It's awful, and it's intentional, and it violated his Eighth Amendment rights, his 14th Amendment right as a pretrial detainee, and his Fourth Amendment right of search and seizure," Rothis said. "There's no way he should have been searched as a passenger of the vehicle."
Rothis says the case is in the early stages as all parties are filing a flurry of motions before a judge rules whether to go on to discovery and eventually trial. In response to the latest movement on this case, Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy said in a statement that municipalities are often the target of lawsuits and, "Attorneys looking to make a name for themselves."
Murphy went on to say, "I look forward to putting this to a jury, and I am confident they will come to the conclusion that we did not do anything alleged in the complaint.
Rothis said in this case justice looks like money — she hopes to get Messer's lost wages and money for his pain and suffering. But she noted it could take a while. She said cases like this can take upwards of five years.
"We're doing our best to get him justice," she said.
