NDOC Pays $497,000 to Settle Inmate Suit

RENO, Nev. (775 Times, NV Globe) – In order to resolve a lawsuit that was initially filed by an inmate in 2017, the Nevada Department of Corrections will pay more than $497,000.

Clifford Miller filed a lawsuit against the NDOC and Romeo Aranas, the medical director, citing violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the eighth amendment rights of the detainee.

Since over 20 years ago, Miller, who is blind in one eye, has been trying to have cataract surgery from NDOC but has always been denied, with NDOC stating that he only had “one decent eye.”

The lawsuit claims that once Miller filed an ADA complaint against NDOC, they sought to penalize him right away.

Miller will get $7,500 from NDOC as part of the settlement, and any disciplinary proceedings taken against him will not appear on his record. The original expense to NDOC for Miller’s settlement, including legal expenses, was greater than $562,000.

NDOC’s appeal to a federal court increased the ultimate sum to little over $497,000 in charges and fees.

“This case could have been resolved for a fraction of what it eventually cost if NDOC had been reasonable. NDOC’s ‘one good eye’ policy was cruel and draconian. NDOC refused to give Miller his surgery even after the Colwell v. Bannister case in 2014 said the failure to do so amounted to deliberate indifference. The prison insisted on disciplining Miller for something he had a right to do—file an ADA complaint. That too was against federal law and was just mean-spirited. The prison looked for ways to punish Miller when he was a model inmate and just wanted to see out of both eyes,” said his lawyer Terri Keyser-Cooper.

Credits: KOLO TV