Substandard Medical Care in U.S. Prisons : Improvement Through Civil Liability Actions

Contrary to the ideal set up in Estelle v. Gamble (1976), inmates' medical needs were infrequently recognized by state courts and normally rejected through the examination of the two-pronged standard. Tsai contributes to existing literature by examining inadequate medical care and medical malpractice litigation against prison and jail physicians who have been sued in state courts by inmates during the past decade. By classifying the treatment actions or inactions that led inmates to file for civil remedies and examining the negative health outcomes that resulted from physicians' actions and inactions and their responses and justification techniques, Tsai analyzes state cases and develops a descriptive profile of how inmates, physicians, and the courts are defining and responding to medical misconduct in U.S. correctional facilities.