What is the test for an individual to be held liable under the Eighth Amendment for failing to respond to a prisoner's pain or possible medical need?

MultiRegion, United States of America

The following excerpt is from Estate Of Jessie P. Contreras v. County Of Glenn, Case No. 2:09-CV-24 68-JAM-EFB (E.D. Cal. 2010):

to respond to a prisoner's pain or possible medical need and (b) harm caused by the indifference." Id. Accordingly, an Eighth Amendment violation is comprised of both an objective component and a subjective component. Coleman v. Wilson, 912 F. Supp. 1282, 1298 (E.D. Cal. 1995). The objective component turns on whether the deprivation of a particular medical need is sufficiently serious. Id. The objective component of deliberate indifference is a mixed question of law and fact, and may turn on whether the mental health care delivery system in place at a jail facility was so deficient that it deprived seriously mentally ill inmates of access to adequate health care. Id. Courts then utilize a six component test to determine if a mental health care delivery system is minimally adequate. Id. With respect to the subjective component, an official cannot be found liable under the Eighth Amendment for denying an inmate humane conditions of confinement unless the official knows of and disregards an excessive risk to inmate health or safety; the official must be aware of facts from the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and he must also draw the inference. Id. at 1299. However, "where the evidence before the district court proves the objective component of an Eighth Amendment violation, the defendants could not plausibly persist in claiming lack of awareness any more than prison officials who state during litigation that they will not take reasonable measures to abate an intolerable risk of which they are aware could claim to be subjectively blameless for purposes of the Eighth Amendment." Id.

Additionally, a private entity that contracts with the government to provide medical and mental health care may be

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considered a state actor whose conduct constitutes state action under Section 1983. Jensen v. Lane County, 222 F.3d 570, 574-575 (9th Cir. 2000). Courts have developed various tests for determining whether an individual or entity's actions are state action. Id.

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