Boise Idaho brain injury: Lawsuit says prison guards allowed violent beating

2010-04-29 03:44:58 (GMT) (JusticeNewsFlash.com - Brain Injury, Justice News Flash)

Wiki Image: A former inmate sues prison.

Legal news for Idaho traumatic brain injury lawyers. A former inmate sues prison over severe beating that left him brain damaged.

A lawsuit against a private prison company in Boise alleges that prison guards allowed a violent beating that left a prisoner with a traumatic brain injury.

Boise, ID—A former inmate of a private prison company who was left brain damaged from a violent beating while at the prison has filed a lawsuit. Hanni Elabed filed the lawsuit against Correction Corporation of America in Boise’s U.S. District Court late last week, as reported by Fox News.

Elabed was reportedly serving time for a robbery charge when he was violently beaten, allegedly in front of at least three guards and another ICC staffer who stood by a watched the attack. In 2008, Elabed, who was 24 at the time, pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Elabed, who is of Muslim and Palestinian decent, informed his family members that he was being harassed by members of a white supremacist gang, other inmates and his cellmate. The lawsuit stated the harassment escalated, which resulted in his cellmate breaking his jaw.

Elabed was then moved to another cellblock, where the harassment continued. The suit contends Elabed asked prison staffers for help, alerting them that he is being threatened; he even gave the guards information about drug trafficking between inmates and staffers that he had witnessed. He was moved again to administrative segregation for a couple of days before prison guards moved him back to the same cellblock.

On January 18, within minutes of Elabed’s arrival back into the old cellblock, he was attacked by a gang member “in plain view of video surveillance cameras and multiple ICC staff who passively observed from behind a window.” According to the lawsuit, all the other inmates were ordered into their cells, leaving Elabed and his attacker in the main area. He was then reportedly knocked to the ground, where the attacker stomped on his head. The lawsuit describes the blows as “delivered with such ferocity and energy that the attacking gang member was forced to catch his breath and refresh himself at a drinking fountain, afterward.” Elabed asserts that he asked the guards for help during the beating break, but his pleas were not met. The beating did not stop until Elabed was convulsing in a pool of blood, unconscious.

Elabed was rushed to the hospital where they diagnosed him with a traumatic subarachnoid brain hemorrhage. The lawsuit claims that because of the beating, Elabed gets confused easily, jumps at loud noises and cannot stay focused. The lawsuit is seeking punitive damages and compensation in an amount to be determined by the court.

James Haver was charged by the Ada County prosecutor for aggravated battery in connection with Elabed’s case.

Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for Idaho traumatic brain injury lawyers.