Strode v. Texas Department of Criminal Justice

OPINION

Opinion by

Chief Justice MORRISS.

Seth Strode was an inmate at a state prison in Winnsboro July 4, 2003, when he was using a motorized bandsaw to cut pork loins in the prison’s butcher freezer and accidentally severed four fingers 1 from his left hand.

Strode sued the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) for his injuries, claiming they were the result of TDCJ (a) providing Strode with a level of training that was negligently below that level required by TDCJ’s written policies, (b) providing Strode with inadequate safety equipment (which was not in accordance with TDCJ’s written…