A former inmate at the Rockingham County prison is suing the county for allegedly not providing safe conditions inside their jail cells.
The Portsmouth Herald reports Alan Brien Sr. filed the suit Aug. 11, which states a fall from his cell's bunk last year caused "serious permanent injuries."
The suit states that Brien's bed was the top bunk, which had no ladder "or other safe mechanism to enable him to climb up from or down from the bunk."
Brien's attorney says his client used a metal desk to get into the bunk, and on Jan. 14 his foot slipped, causing him to "violently fall to the concrete floor."
No specific request for damages was listed in the negligence suit.
Corrections Superintendent Stephen Church didn't return calls seeking comment.
