Eugene H. Mathison v. United States

Inmate Eugene H. Mathison broke a tooth on a bone fragment in a turkey leg served at a federal prison cafeteria in Minnesota. Mathison’s dental treatment did not go smoothly. After prison dentists crowned Mathison’s broken tooth, Mathi-son developed an abscess. The tooth was extracted, but part of the tooth remained in the socket. After the rest of the broken tooth was removed, Mathison required no further related dental treatment.

Mathison brought this action against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) alleging (1) prison officials negligently failed to warn him there…