Eric Lambert, 29, said he was twice injured while serving a Vermont prison sentence in a Kentucky facility operated by CoreCivic — formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America. He sued in Superior Court in Bennington and Windham counties.
Both Judge John Valente in the Bennington court and Judge Michael Kainen in the Windham court in Newfane signed off on requests by the parties involved to dismiss the cases, after negotiated settlements.
In the suit filed in 2015 in Bennington, Lambert said his hand was severely cut while he operated a power saw in a prison in Beattyville, Kentucky, in November 2013. The complaint said his injuries are “continuing and are permanent.”
In the suit in the Windham court, filed in 2016, Lambert alleged he was injured when assaulted by another inmate in the Kentucky facility in December 2013. He said the assault occurred in an exercise yard when a guard was not at his assigned post and the area was not within view of guards or security personnel.
The suit alleged that Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic undertook the responsibility of providing Lambert with a safe environment in which to live and work and failed to live up to that responsibility.
In the suit in the Windham court, Lambert sought compensatory damages plus interest and costs and attorney fees, along with punitive damages. In its response to both suits, the company denied the allegations.
Lambert was represented in each suit by Thomas Costello, of the Brattleboro firm Costello, Valente & Gentry. Costello could not be reached for comment.
CoreCivic was represented in both cases by Jennifer G. Mihalich, of Lynn, Lynn, Blackman & Manitsky, of Burlington. Reached via email, she referred questions to CoreCivic spokesman Steven Owen. He said in a release: “These matters have been resolved. While we can’t speak to the specifics of the suits, we are committed to the safety of the individuals entrusted to our care.”
No further details of the settlements were released.
Lambert had been sentenced in January 2013 to a three- to 15-year term after pleading guilty to multiple burglary counts and other charges. He has since been paroled under supervision of the Department of Corrections office in Bennington.
According to the national firm’s website, CoreCivic, which is based in Nashville, “houses nearly 70,000 inmates in more than 70 facilities, the majority of which are company-owned, with a total bed capacity of more than 80,000. (The company) currently partners with all three federal corrections agencies (the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement), many states and local municipalities.”
Vermont’s contract with the company to house some of its inmates ended in 2015, when the state entered into a contract with GEO Group for its North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan.
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