Zimmerman v. State

46 Ill. Ct. Cl. 226, 1994 Ill. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 17
CourtCourt of Claims of Illinois
DecidedMay 10, 1994
DocketNo. 88-CC-0687
StatusPublished

This text of 46 Ill. Ct. Cl. 226 (Zimmerman v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Claims of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zimmerman v. State, 46 Ill. Ct. Cl. 226, 1994 Ill. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 17 (Ill. Super. Ct. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION

Patchett, J.

This is a claim for injuries which were sustained by the Claimant, Carol J. Zimmerman, when she was attacked by James Armstead. At the time of the attack, Ms. Zimmerman was employed by Correctional Health Services, Inc., which had a contract with the State of Illinois to provide x-ray and other health-related services to the Pontiac Correctional Facility. James Armstead was an inmate at the Pontiac Correctional Facility, which is a maximum security facility operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Following the attack, Ms. Zimmermans employer paid $29,550 in medical bills, $9,710 in temporary total disability benefits, and $30,000 in a lump sum settlement. The employer waived any lien they had against any monies that might be collected through this claim.

As her first witness, Ms. Zimmerman called Dale Bent. Mr. Bent is currently the chief phlebotomist at Stateville Correctional Center and had been working for the Department of Corrections for eight years at the time of the attack. He was working at the Pontiac Correctional Center Hospital on that occasion in the lab, which was next door to the x-ray room where Ms. Zimmerman worked. There was no door between the lab and the x-ray processing area. Mr. Bent received blood test results on his computer which was located in the x-ray processing room next to his lab. This made it necessary for him to go into the hallway, down the hall to the door of the x-ray room, and into the processing area to receive the computer report. Ms. Zimmerman knocked on the wall to notify Mr. Bent to come and get the reports when they came in. The door from the x-ray room into the main hallway was steel with one small window about five feet off the floor. There were no windows along the common wall between the x-ray room and the hallway. There was an officers room next to Mr. Bents lab, which was approximately 45 feet from the door to the x-ray room. Following the attack, a door was installed between the lab and the x-ray processing room.

The x-ray room and lab had been remodeled in March 1985. After moving in, Bent and Zimmerman discussed with Assistant Warden Washington, who was in charge of overseeing all the hospital programs, the problems caused by the physical layout of the officers room, lab, and x-ray areas. They specifically noted the problem of access to the x-ray room. They were concerned for both convenience and security reasons. Warden Washington agreed that there were problems with security and access in the new facilities, and he told both Bent and Zimmerman to send him a memo on the subject. Mr. Bent sent a memo to Warden Washington suggesting that a door be installed between the lab and the x-ray processing area in order to improve security and facilitate access to the processing area for both officers and Bent. Mr. Bent reiterated their earlier discussions concerning the problems with security. No response to the memo was received. About three weeks after the attack on Ms. Zimmerman, the door was installed.

Bent testified that after Ms. Zimmerman was attacked, she knocked on the access panel located in the wall between the lab and the processing room to attract his attention. He went out of his lab and down the hall into the x-ray area, where he saw the Claimant in the x-ray processing room. She was behind the door between that room and the x-ray room. Since Bent did not have a key to this door, and the Claimant was too severely injured to open it, she had to slide the keys under the door. Before opening the door, he ran back to the desk in the x-ray room to call for help. He found the line busy. He then ran into the hall and called for a sergeant who was in the officer’s room.

Upon cross-examination, Bent testified that the door leading from the x-ray room to the processing area was self-locking. There was also a self-locking solid steel door between the processing area and the dark room. There were correctional officers stationed in the health care unit. Unless an inmate was actually seeing a doctor, he was to be kept in a holding area, the protective custody holding area, or in the actual in-patient hospital.

There was no alarm button or warning signal in the x-ray area. There was no monitor that allowed the officers to observe what was going on in the x-ray area. The only phone in the x-ray area was in the x-ray room itself. An alarm system, which included a button to summon help, was built into the newly-remodeled infirmary area. Only one person, a nurse, worked in the infirmary area where the alarm was located.

The Claimant testified in her own behalf. At the time of the attack, she was 46 years of age, four feet, eleven inches (4' 11") tall, and weighed approximately 113 pounds. She had six children and began working outside her home in November 1972. She worked part time for three different employers while raising her six children through April 1980. She began x-ray training at Illinois Central College. After graduating as an x-ray technician, she found full-time employment with Correctional Health Services and was assigned to the Pontiac Correctional Center in July 1983.

Ms. Zimmerman participated in the conversation between Assistant Warden Washington and Dale Bent. During that conversation, she expressed concern for her safety, especially in the darkroom and processing room. She also expressed concern about the response time of officers in the event of a problem. A memo from Ms. Zimmerman to Assistant Warden Washington, dated March 18, 1985, was introduced into evidence. The memo suggested that a doorway be installed between the x-ray room and Mr. Bents lab, and also referred to Bents memo of March 15, 1985. There was never a response from Assistant Warden Washington, nor any action taken as of October 29, 1986, to improve access to the x-ray suite. No alarm system or monitors were installed in the x-ray area. As stated previously, there were no windows between the lab and the hallway.

Ms. Zimmerman was never given instructions with regard to self-defense or security when dealing with prisoners. She was not supplied with self-defense equipment; in fact, such items were expressly prohibited.

When prisoners were to be x-rayed, they would come into the x-ray lab with either a requisition from the prison doctor or a pass. The Claimant would let them into the lab area and x-ray them, either at the examining table or at the wall. While the x-rays were being performed, she would stand behind the protective lead wall in the x-ray room. She then would send the inmates back to the holding area. Afterwards she would take the film to the film processor, which was located in a separate room located between Bent’s lab and the x-ray room. There was a self-locking door between the x-ray room and the processing room. While the x-rays were being performed, the door from the x-ray room to the hall would be closed to prevent radiation from going into the hall. Ms. Zimmerman could not see out the window in this door because it was too high off the floor. She was never instructed to keep the door between the processing room and the x-ray lab closed. Ms. Zimmerman would take twelve to fifteen x-rays per day. She assumed the inmates would be screened by the doctor who saw them for violent propensities. Only those inmates who were from protective custody were escorted by guards. There had never been a guard assigned to her on a regular basis.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
46 Ill. Ct. Cl. 226, 1994 Ill. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 17, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zimmerman-v-state-ilclaimsct-1994.