The following excerpt is from Dragasits v. Rucker, Case No.: 18-cv-0512-WQH-AGS (S.D. Cal. 2020):
Deliberate indifference to a prisoner's serious medical needs constitutes the "unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104-05 (1976). This includes steps taken by prison guards to "intentionally deny[] or delay[] access to medical care or intentionally interfer[e] with the treatment once prescribed." Id. A claim of deliberate indifference has two distinct elements: a "serious medical need" and the "deliberate indifference" of prison officials. Id. at 104.
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