Today, Haddad & Sherwin LLP announced through a press release that they have been granted the green light by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to proceed with multiple COVID-19 related cases against the CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation). These cases stem from a botched transfer of inmates in 2020 that resulted in the death of 28 San Quentin inmates and one correctional sergeant, Gilbert Polanco.
On May 30, 2020, 122 inmates untested for the COVID-19 virus were transferred from the California Institute for Men (CIM) to San Quentin. Although the prisoners were deemed to be at high risk of contracting the disease, no precautionary measures were taken against the spread of the illness, including testing the prisoners beforehand or providing any sort of masks or PPE. After the transfer, several prisoners tested positive for COVID-19, and the prison became a hotbed for the virus. The spread resulted in almost 30 deaths.
In 2022, Haddad & Sherwin LLP brought civil rights lawsuits against the CDCR and the State of California, representing several families of deceased inmates and Sgt. Polanco’s family. The State of California asked several federal district courts to dismiss the cases, claiming that its prison officials and the CDCR should be immune from liability. The district courts rejected the State’s motions to dismiss, and the State Defendants appealed those rulings to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Now the Ninth Circuit has also ruled that the State officials sued to not enjoy immunity from suit, and they can be held responsible for the tragic consequences of their bad decisions. Now, Haddad & Sherwin LLP will proceed with their cases against the CDCR, including claims by the families of San Quentin three inmates and a correctional sergeant killed by COVID-19. Other attorneys represent a class action brought by inmates who contracted the virus and recovered. These are believed to be the first federal lawsuits in the country brought by inmates against prison officials that a court of appeals has allowed to move forward.
Michael Haddad is quoted in the press release saying: “The Ninth Circuit has now affirmed what we have been saying from the beginning. Reasonable prison officials would have known better than to transfer untested inmates to San Quentin during the pandemic, then ignore the urgent guidance from public health experts to do more to protect inmates and staff from the massive outbreak they created.”
Mr. Haddad says, “The California Attorney General’s Office’s attempt to shield state prison officials from accountability has failed. We hope that the State will now accept responsibility for the great harm caused by its callous treatment of people living and working at San Quentin.”
Until this fatal transfer, San Quentin had not seen a single case of COVID-19. Within three weeks of the transfer, there were 500 known cases of the virus.
More information about the transfer can be found here.
Stay tuned for more information on these cases as Haddad & Sherwin LLP. fight for the justice and fair treatment of all California citizens.
If you have a loved one who was subjected to serious bodily injury or death at the hands of police negligence within California state, get in touch with a California jail death attorney today.
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