Miller v. Doe

Citations

• 214 Conn. App. 35

Syllabus

The plaintiff, an inmate in a state correctional institution, sought to recover damages from the defendant M, an employee of the Department of Correction, in his individual capacity, pursuant to federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1983), for the alleged violation of his federal constitutional rights in connection with a motor vehicle accident during which he sustained injuries. The plaintiff, who was being transported to and from a medical appointment in a vehicle operated by M, was placed in full restraints in the rear seat of the vehicle, in which there was not enough room for the plaintiff to sit upright. The plaintiff informed M that the vehicle was too small, but M said that he could not obtain a larger vehicle. The plaintiff did not ask M to secure his seat belt, and M did not check to see if the seat belt was fastened. On the return trip, M drove erratically and in excess of the speed limit, ultimately colliding with another vehicle. The plaintiff alleged that M had violated his civil rights under the eighth amendment to the United States constitution, claiming that M's failure to abide by reasonable safety standards while transporting him gave rise to a claim of deliberate indifference. The trial court denied M's motion for summary judgment, finding that there was a disputed question of fact as to whether M knew and was indifferent to an excessive risk to the plaintiff's health and safety. On M's appeal to this court from the denial of his motion for summary judgment, held that the trial court erred in holding that M was not entitled to qualified immunity, as the allegations in the plaintiff's complaint and the record before the court did not give rise to a claim for deliberate indifference because no federal precedent clearly established that M's conduct violated the eighth amendment constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment: the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Jabbar v. Fischer (683 F.3d 54), held that the failure of prison officials to pr