Corcoran 2011 hunger strike petitioner needs legal help re retaliation, medical care

by Juan Jaimes

My name is Juan Jaimes. I was a petitioner during the Dec. 28, 2011, hunger strike here at Corcoran State Prison. I’m sure you recall after I and the other two petitioners were transferred I suffered a misfortune at the hands of CDCR in Kern Valley State Prison.

Juan-Jaimes-w-broken-back-in-brace-on-bare-bed-072312-pic-emailed-to-Kendra-web, Corcoran 2011 hunger strike petitioner needs legal help re retaliation, medical care, Abolition Now! I am writing you to inform you that I am back at Corcoran State Prison Administrative Segregation Unit and nothing that was promised to us did we ever receive, and to be honest the living conditions have even worsened and many of us have been subjected to harassment and vindictive and retaliatory behavior. I have documentation to provide you to prove that I am one of them along with many others.

I don’t know if I ever shared with you, but in 2009 I was accused of assault on a peace officer and was placed in ASU. Well, on Feb. 11, 2013, I was acquitted by a jury of that alleged assault but the district attorney tagged on other charges. I was found guilty for an alleged P.C. 69, deterring a peace officer with the use of force, threat and violence, although I was 90 feet away and didn’t touch or use any violence or force against the officers. And now I am facing a life sentence.

I am also writing you to inform you that I and a group of inmates are on hunger strike again in support of the Short Corridor in helping them get their five core demands met along with the additional 42 they submitted. And, of course, being that nothing has improved here in Corcoran ASU, we are asking that our demands for this ASU be met.

I did not receive your May, June and July issue of the S.F. Bay View. As I had explained to you before, my mail and all or most of my CDCR-22 appeal 602s are being lost or never returned, replied to or processed. I am being held on a bogus charge. I will be sending you copies of all my medical issues as well as confinement.

I and a group of inmates are on hunger strike again in support of the Short Corridor in helping them get their five core demands met along with the additional 42 they submitted.

I pray and ask that if there is anyone interested in representing me in these lawsuits, write me at the following address or come visit me so I can provide him/her with all the documentation herein mentioned. In these pages I’m enclosing I explain in detail the events that have occurred and are occurring. Thank you very much for your help and all that you do for us. May God bless you abundantly and you continue educating.

I need legal representation

I am an inmate serving a prison sentence of 12 years. I am currently incarcerated at Corcoran State Prison Administrative Segregation Unit (CSP-ASU). I have two years of my sentence left to do and am writing you because I am in need of legal assistance and/or representation in a couple of lawsuits, one being a medical lawsuit, another an “excessive use of force” against my person while I was in a “cardio-vascular vest” (Kydex jacket) due to a fractured vertebra (L-1) and a compressed, burst disc.

I have not initiated neither of them because I am currently being subjected to various types of harassment in an attempt to try and discourage me from pursing my litigation. My property, personal and legal, is deliberately being taken from me and thrown away and/or lost.

For the medical lawsuit, the events are as follows: On April 6, 2012, while I was playing sports, I injured my back. I was unable to move, stand up or walk at all. However, the correctional officers on the yard at Kern Valley State Prison B Facility told me, “Get up and walk to the facility clinic or you will not be seen.” I then stated, “I cannot move, let alone get up.” With the assistance of two inmates I was carried to the facility clinic where I was placed laid out in a cell.

Shortly thereafter the nurse walked in and asked me what happened. I told her what occurred and she took my vitals then left. Shortly thereafter a couple of officers walked in the cell and moved me around forcing me to wear shackles and waist restraints. I told them I was in excruciating pain and was not able to move. My back felt as if it had split in two. The officers’ response was, “You will not go anywhere until you’re placed in waist restraints.” The incident happened about 2:15-2:30 p.m.

The ambulance arrived at the yard clinic and I was placed inside and was driven to Kern Valley State Prison Correctional Treatment Center (CTC) where my vitals again were taken. About 30-40 minutes later I was then sent to an outside public hospital, Delano Regional Medical Center (DRMC) in Delano. While there I was in an observation room/cell for hours, suffering in pain because the medication I was given did not do anything. After being there for so long I was finally taken to the x-ray room where x-rays of my back were done. Shortly thereafter I was returned to the observation room/cell and about an hour or two.

Later the doctor walked in and proceeded to tell me that I was OK, that the x-rays showed nothing, that I have “muscle back spasms.” About 9:30-10:00 p.m., I was discharged from DRMC and returned to Kern Valley State Prison B Facility without further care, although I had explained to the nurses, doctors and correctional officers that I could not move or walk. I was told, “We cannot do anything. Just apply this ice pack for three days.” I was given an ice pack and six methocarbomol pills.

I am in need of legal assistance and/or representation in a couple of lawsuits, one being a medical lawsuit, another an “excessive use of force” against my person while I was in a “cardio-vascular vest” (Kydex jacket) due to a fractured vertebra (L-1) and a compressed, burst disc.

On April 11, 2012, after submitting a medical slip citing severe pain, I was called to see the facility doctor who upon viewing my back felt bumps and said I had bruises on my back and re-ordered new x-ray images of my back.

On April 13, 2012, while at Kern Valley State Prison and housed in B Facility, Cell 127, I was called to Correctional Treatment Center (CTC) for x-rays. Once taken I was returned back to B Facility.

On April 17, 2012, I was again called to CTC where upon arriving I spoke with Dr. Schafer, who read me the results of the x-rays taken on April 13. Dr. Schafer told me that DRMC had made an “error.” She then told me I have a fractured vertebra (L-1) and a compressed, burst disc and that she could not understand why DRMC did not see it.

Dr. Schafer then showed me the x-rays where I saw a crack in one of the discs in my lower back. I then stated, “I told everyone – doctors, nurses, including correctional officers – for the past 2 weeks. Then I felt my back was loose and not able to move at all, and my back feels as if it’s been split in half. From the day of injury, April 6, until April 17, I was forced to carry on with my everyday activities, walking to get my food, climbing stairs to get a shower, washing my linen etc.”

Dr. Schafer then told me that she was going to send me to an outside hospital to be seen and evaluated by a specialist and ordered my immediate transportation to San Joaquin Community Hospital (SJCH) in Bakersfield that same day, April 17. Once there I underwent numerous tests – cat-scans, MRI etc.

I was also informed by SJCH doctors that I had suffered serious injuries to my spinal cord and recommended I get surgery. Doctors explained the complications of surgery, indicating they would have to install screws on my back, and said that I may end up paralyzed with or without the surgery being that it was a two-week-old injury and where it was located. So I declined surgery at the time based on the information I was given.

Upon consultation with the hospital neurosurgeon, I was told in detail the extent and seriousness of my injuries, so again I made a fear-based decision to decline surgery at that very moment. I then asked the doctors if there was another option or anything else they could do for me aside from surgery. The doctor then stated, “We can have someone take measurements of your back and place you in a ‘cardio-vascular vest’ (Kydex jacket), but it can take six months to a year before your fracture can heal.”

I was also informed that a full and proper function is not guaranteed. I said, “OK, I’ll go with that option of wearing the Kydex jacket.” I was admitted into SJCH on April 17 and discharged April 20 to be admitted to Corcoran State Prison Acute Care Hospital (ACH) on April 20 and discharged from Corcoran ACH on May 31 and was sent back to Kern Valley State Prison, not B Facility but A Facility.

Upon my arrival at KVSP, I was taken off all my medication and was suffering from pain, so I went through the appeals process and have been requesting surgery since June 2012 until present because while at Corcoran ACH I was told that the compressed, burst disc will not ever be back to its normal height and I will be suffering from the pain unless the disc is fused. But I am being denied surgery: “I had my chance.”

On Sept. 11, 2012, the incident of excessive force ensued, irritating my back and on Nov. 30, my Kydex jacket was finally removed. To show more about my excessive force complaint, I am enclosing my appeal 602 along with a summary report and a memorandum revealing that a violation of CDCR policy did occur in regards to the issues I raised. I will also be enclosing supporting documentation on everything I speak of in this letter commencing with the day of injury.

I pray and ask that if there is anyone interested in representing me in these lawsuits, write me at the following address or come visit me so I can provide him/her with all the documentation herein mentioned.

Again, I haven’t initiated any of these lawsuits because I am constantly being harassed and am also filing a complaint on that as soon as I get copies. I will provide you with one if requested. I believe I have two strong cases and am seeking legal and professional assistance in bringing these issues to fruition. I am seeking monetary damages and medical for life for the injuries sustained and the pain and suffering. If you would be interested in representing me, please write back. If not, can you refer my case to someone willing to take my case on pro-bono or contingency basis?

Send our brother some love and light: Juan Jaimes, V-08644, Corcoran State Prison, ASU-1-103, P.O. Box 3456, Corcoran, CA 93212.