(CN) – A man who says inadequate medical treatment in a Florida prison left him permanently blind in one eye may have a civil rights case, the 11th Circuit ruled.
The decision notes that Jeffrey Kuhne was in his mid-40s when Florida incarcerated him for a probation violation in June 2008.
His sight significantly worsened soon after his transfer from intake to the Jackson Correctional Institution, and an optometrist recommended in October that the inmate see a retinal specialist.
Though Kuhne was diagnosed with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, a condition that can lead to permanent blindness if left untreated, he never saw that specialist and was released from the custody in March 2009 with permanent blindness in his left eye.