What is the current state of the law on prison health and safety issues in the context of medical malpractice cases?

The Eighth Amendment requires prison officials to take reasonable measures to protect inmates from serious risks to their health and safety. Farmer, 511 U.S. at 837; Helling v. McKinney, 509 U.S. 25, 33-34 (1993). To be culpable, a prison official must demonstrate a state of mind of "deliberate indifference." Farmer, 511 U.S. at 834. The "deliberate indifference" standard requires a prison official to have actual, subjective knowledge of an excessive risk of harm to the prisoner's safety and fail to prevent it. Id. at 837-39. This failure must also result in the "denial of 'the minimal civilized measures of life's necessities.'" Id. at 834. Although a prison official may actually know of a substantial risk to inmate health and safety, he is free from liability if he responded reasonably to the risk. Id. at 844.