Judge Joseph Bianco
Pro se plaintiff Muhammad brought an action against the County of Suffolk and Suffolk Correctional Medical Staff, alleging a violation of his constitutional rights pursuant to 42 USC 1983. Muhammad contended that the defendants showed deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs when they denied him medical care following a change in his physical condition while in the custody of the Suffolk County Sheriff. Muhammad claimed that he sustained a period of stimulated chest growth after suffering an adverse side effect to prescribed medication and that the medical staff did little to help him when he complained. The court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment for Muhammad’s failure to exhaust his remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The court noted that the uncontroverted evidence demonstrates that there is a well-established Grievance Procedure in the Suffolk County Correctional Facility Rules & Regulations Handbook, which all inmates receive upon entry into the facility. The court added that Muhammad admitted that he did not file a grievance with respect to his alleged lack of medical care and that no special circumstances prevented him from filing such a grievance.
