Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP Files Brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Behalf of Russell Showers

On June 7, Kaplan Hecker & Fink filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on behalf of Russell Showers, who has been suffering from debilitating neck and back pain while incarcerated at a state correctional institution in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Showers sued prison medical staff and officers for failing to provide adequate medical treatment during a span of at least five years, in violation of his constitutional rights. The District Court granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss, concluding that Mr. Showers’s action was barred under the Prison Litigation Reform Act because he failed to exhaust administrative remedies.

Mr. Showers appealed that decision to the Third Circuit, and Kaplan Hecker (along with co-counsel from the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center) filed a brief arguing that the District Court’s ruling contravenes governing precedent and conflicts with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The filing, which can be read in full here, reflects the firm’s commitment to fighting for justice and advocating for the rights of the incarcerated.