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Listen to this articleWhere a plaintiff was injured in a fall while incarcerated at a prison facility, the defendants are entitled to summary judgment because the evidence is not sufficient to permit a reasonable inference of negligence on the part of the Department of Correction.
“Plaintiff Gelfi Diaz (‘Diaz’ or the ‘Plaintiff’) is a formerly incarcerated inmate at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Concord, Massachusetts (‘MCI-Concord’). Defendants Department of Correction (‘DOC’) and unidentified John/Jane Doe administrators managed the prison facility in which Diaz served his sentence. …
“On July 23, 2019, Diaz was walking outside the entrance of MCI-Concord’s H Building when he suffered a fall. The fall resulted when the earth below Diaz’s right foot gave way, causing Diaz to collapse into a sinkhole. …
“In the case at bar, the record stands undisputed that neither the DOC nor any of its administrators were aware of a sinkhole situated outside of MCI-Concord’s H Building. There is likewise no evidence in the summary judgment record that would permit a fair and non-speculative inference that the Defendants were on notice of any conditions at the accident site (either on the exterior ground or in the underground water piping) to give them constructive notice of an unreasonable danger that a sinkhole might form. …
“… That administrators at MCI-Concord were aware that H Building was overheated cannot, without more, impute to them an awareness or constructive awareness of esoteric science suggesting the likely presence of sinkholes outside this facility posing an unreasonable risk of harm to inmates. …”
Diaz v. Department of Correction, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-003-25) (7 pages) (Gordon, J.) (Suffolk Superior Court) (Docket No. 2184CV00102-C) (Feb. 5, 2025).
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