A Marion County inmate who is currently serving a multi-year sentence has filed a lawsuit against medical staff at the Marion County Jail, accusing them of botching a dental procedure that left him in need of stitches and with lasting issues “eating and sleeping.”
James Lee Gavin filed the hand-written complaint against the Marion County Jail Medical Clinic’s Dental Office on his own behalf in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County on April 21.
According to his complaint, on February 16, 2025, at approximately 9 a.m., Gavin was called out from “D Pod/Section D” to the medical clinic to meet with “dental representatives for a scheduled removal of a tooth positioned in the upper back area of his mouth.” The complaint alleges that the tooth was “broken and in serious need of removal from” Gavin’s mouth.
While medical staff were removing the back tooth from Gavin’s mouth, the dental nurse “cut part” of his gum and could “not stop the wound from bleeding.” Gavin claims he sat in the clinic “for an hour or more with the same result” before he was “sent back to his respective pod and section with the injured gum still bleeding and in need of stitches.”
After additional time passed Gavin, who claims he is diabetic, approached a corrections officer and explained that the “issue had not been resolved and the gauze had not stopped the bleeding of the damaged gum.”
Gavin says that it wasn’t until “well into the afternoon” that he was sent back to the dental office within the medical clinic to “receive stitches.” The complaint alleges that he had “many issues eating and sleeping” as a result of the procedure.
Gavin claims that after the incident, he requested the ability to file an inmate grievance on February 24. He says he was never given “the ability to use the grievance computer to file a complaint within the facility” and that he only has the “signed copy” of the request form stating his intentions on February 24.
“The deliberate indifference to medical needs and medical malpractice violated plaintiff Gavin’s rights and constituted medical malpractice under the Florida Statute section 766.106,” reads Gavin’s complaint. “The plaintiff has no plain, adequate, or complete remedy at law to redress the wrongs described herein. Plaintiff has been and will continue to be irreparably injured by the conduct of the defendant unless this court grants the declaratory and injunctive relief which plaintiff seeks.”
Gavin is asking the court to grant a preliminary or permanent injunction ordering the dental office to “no longer condone the practices and procedures used within the facility in an unsafe and professional manner, and that these medical malpractices and deliberate indifferences cease within the offices and establishment of the Marion County Jail.”
Gavin is seeking punitive damages in the amount of $150,000, and compensatory damages in the amount of $85.
According to Marion County Court records, Gavin is currently serving a multi-year sentence that he received after he was found guilty of selling fentanyl. Records show that Gavin has served just over 2 years of his 6-year sentence.
On May 2, the Marion County Clerk of Courts Office notified Gavin that his “affidavit of indigent status” had been forwarded to Judge Lisa Herndon for her consideration. An affidavit of indigency affords a reduction or waiver of the costs associated with court actions for individuals who demonstrate their inability to afford said fees (or legal representation).
The docket shows no further updates since that time.
The lawsuit is one of several that have been filed recently against the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and its staff:
- A former deputy claims he was retaliated against after he reported his sergeant and captain to human resources for racist comments and forcing him and his colleagues to unlawfully doctor reports, among several other accusations.
- Another former employee is suing Woods’ office for allegedly retaliating against her after she repeatedly voiced concerns over the quality of inmate health care at Marion County Jail.
- The family of a 73-year-old disabled veteran of the Vietnam War with special needs sued the sheriff and multiple deputies, alleging that they improperly used deadly force, pepper spray, and tasers before leaving the man for dead in a cell floor for two days.
- An Ocala man who was strip searched and wrongfully detained for 24 hours claims the sheriff’s office never reimbursed him for the cost of attorney’s fees and towing expenses he incurred.