Partner Michael P. McClaren, recently represented five current corrections officers and one former correction officer in a case involving failure to protect claims. After a one-week trial, the jury returned a defense verdict on all of the claims. The plaintiff, a former inmate at the Orleans County Jail, had asserted that a rumor had spread throughout the jail that he was a “snitch” and his life was in danger. He claims to have notified all of the defendants that he feared that he would be attacked. He asserted that the defendants took no action, and he was subsequently attacked and suffered a head injury and a torn rotator cuff. Each of the defendants denied having any knowledge of or information that the plaintiff was in danger and disputed the plaintiff’s various accounts of conversations and written requests that he be transferred to another area of the jail facility or placed in protective custody. The jury deliberated for approximately four hours before delivering a verdict for the defense on all of the claims and causes of action.
