Ex-inmate can sue Nassau over rodent bite

A former Nassau jail inmate who alleges that he was bitten by a rat or mouse while in his cell can sue the county, a federal judge has ruled.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Arthur Spatt in Central Islip involves the case of Peter Solomon, who was briefly in the jail in 2007 after he was arrested on a charge of harassing his wife, according to court papers.

Spatt's Jan. 7 decision denies a request by the county to have the case thrown out immediately. Spatt said there were enough uncertainties in the case that it should be up to a jury to determine the facts.

Solomon, a Vietnam veteran who said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, says he was lying in his cell in the jail's mental observation unit when a rodent came out of a hole in his mattress and bit him on the genitals, court papers said.

It was "horrific," Solomon's attorney, Paul Layton of Manhattan, said Thursday. The civil rights action seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

Layton said only that his client lived on Long Island and was in his mid-50s.

He said his client was taken to Nassau University Medical Center after being bitten and was treated for injuries and underwent rabies shots.

Nassau County attorney John Ciampoli said Thursday that the jail has an ongoing effective rodent control program and, "We are confident that we will win this for the county."

Ciampoli said that there was some question about whether a rodent actually bit Solomon.