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CA7: Denial of medical care to arrestee can be a Fourth Amendment issue

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Denial of medical care to an arrestee can also be determined under the Fourth Amendment rather than the Eighth Amendment, based on reasonableness. Legg v. Pappas, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 12288 (7th Cir. June 16, 2010) (unpublished): Finally, Legg argues that Agee and Hutt violated his Fourth Amendment rights by unreasonably denying him medical care. Whether the officers acted reasonably is determined by four factors: the officers' notice of the arrestee's medical needs; the seriousness of the medical needs; the scope of the requested treatment; and police interests. Williams v. Rodriguez, 509 F.3d 392, 403 (7th Cir. 2007). All four factors show that Hutt and Agee behaved reasonably. First, there is nothing in the record that suggests that Hutt or Agee had notice that Legg was in need of medical care...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 18, 2010 (boomark / email).