$4.3 Million Jury Verdict Obtained in 8th Amendment Medical Indifference Case

On June 20, 2025, Adam J. Breeden of NevadaCivilRights.com was part of a legal team which obtained a $4.3 million dollar verdict against two former Nevada Department of Corrections medical employees in an 8th Amendment deliberate indifference/denial of medical care case. Although the verdict was nominally against a former nurse and physician at Northern Nevada Medical Center / Stewart Conservation Camp, the State of Nevada will pay the award.

The case was tried to a jury in United States District Court in Reno, Nevada before Judge Miranda Du and lasted only three days, proving that good cases don’t take long to present.

Serious Medical Neglect Behind Bars

In the lawsuit, our client, Nick Mork, alleged that during his incarceration he sustained two different serious medical issues for which medical staff mostly ignored, despite more than a year of medical requests. These included:

• A horrible, full body rash, and

• A terrible abscess around a tooth which went untreated and was allowed to spread—ultimately costing the client several teeth.

Both conditions were extremely painful, but medical requests were either ignored or woefully insufficiently addressed.

Inflammatory Facts in Favor of the Plaintiff

The case had several inflammatory facts favorable to the plaintiff, including:

1. Prior false interrogatories submitted by one of the defendants, which were exposed after counsel was retained

2. Willful spoliation of evidence—including deletion of photos of the rash taken by the physician

3. Allegations that the physician threatened to move the client to a high-security prison as punishment for his many medical requests

4. A statement by the nurse, agreed to by the physician, which was disputed by the Defense but documented by the client, that they should try “amputation at the neck” to treat him

   
   

The Plaintiff was a highly educated, articulate man who had been released by the time of trial.

Jury Sends a Clear Message

The highest pre-trial offer was $98,000. Needless to say, the jury was outraged by some of this conduct and sent a clear message.

Punitive damages were strategically not sought, and after Defense counsel suggested to the jury that the defendants would have to personally pay any large judgment, the Court issued a curative instruction advising the jury that they should not speculate or concern themselves with whether the individuals or the State would pay any award.

Both individual defendants had left NDOC employment by the time of trial.