Howard Lee Leach v. Larry Norris

Howard Lee Leach appeals the district court’s Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. Upon de novo review, see Ring v. First Interstate Mortgage, Inc., 984 F.2d 924, 926 (8th Cir.1993), we affirm in part and reverse in part.

Leach alleged that, while housed at Cummins prison farm, he did not receive adequate treatment for a large painful knot in his side and for breathing difficulties from asthma. Prison staff forced him to work in the fields, where the heat, dust, and lack of medicine aggravated his asthma, and he became sick and weak. The infirmary…