Eight inmates in a Nevada state prison were forced to fight fires without training and proper equipment, and weren’t given medical treatment after suffering burns, they alleged in lawsuits that led to a $340,000 settlement.
Past and present inmates filed several lawsuits against the state over their treatment, the Nevada Independent reported.
The separate state and federal lawsuits came after eight inmates were cleaning up remnants of a fire near Laughlin, about 90 miles south of Las Vegas, in April 2021.
The fire began burning their feet as they worked, but they were required to continue, and two supervisors “mocked” them, according to the lawsuits. The sole of one inmate’s boot melted off, and a supervisor wrapped the shoe in duct tape and required work to continue, they claimed.
After they finished, the prisoners could “barely walk,” one of the lawsuits stated, and many needed assistance to get off a bus and reached a restroom by crawling, the Independent reported.
They didn’t receive medical treatment until the next day, when doctors sliced off dead skin and tissue without providing any pain medication, they claimed. Several of the firefighting inmates spent the next two weeks in recovery, the Independent reported.
The inmates who participated in the firefighting program weren’t given any in-field training before and were unable to report worn-out equipment or supervisors’ negligence, their suit claimed.
According to the lawsuit, the Department of Corrections inspector general investigated the incident and found the firefighters got second-degree burns on their feet, received insufficient training and were wearing worn-out boots.
The eight plaintiffs will receive amounts ranging from around $24,000 to $48,000, with remaining money to be distributed to the plaintiff’s counsel.
The settlement also established new safety protocols and training programs for participants of the firefighting program, a partnership between the Nevada Division of Forestry and the Nevada Department of Corrections.
The prisoner firefighters receive just $24 daily, which some state officials compared to enslavement and forced labor, the Independent reported. Their service can earn them a sentence reduction of up to 45 days.
Prisoners serving their time are legally and ethically entitled to a safe existence behind bars, and not providing that has costs taxpayers more than it would have to administer the proper care in the first place.
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