February 14, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A state court says the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is liable for the injuries of an 80-year-old inmate who fell out of his top bunk.
A ruling by Ohio Court of Claims magistrate earlier this month says the state prison system knew the risks and shouldn't have assigned inmate Roy Buchanan to a top bunk.
Buchanan's complaint says he lost his balance and fell out of his bunk onto the concrete floor of the dorm where he lived at the Hocking Correctional Facility in December 2012.
The magistrate noted that Buchanan had back problems and a hernia, and his ability to climb in and out of an upper bunk was substantially limited.
Buchanan, now 82, was imprisoned in 2005 for rape.