“They took my manhood,” was the cry of a man who was abandoned inside a prison while he underwent painful erection for six days after he was given antidepressants.
Now, the 50-year-old had been given the sum of $750, 000 in compensation of the agony he went through which cost him his fertility.
Cotton initially filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city, the Department of Corrections and the city Health and Hospitals Corporation back in 2012 but eventually settled for $750,000
The suit read in part, “Despite his moaning and groaning, and difficulty walking, correction officers and two doctors at the jail told him his case was not an emergency.
“He made numerous complaints of a priapism condition, for which inadequate care and attention was provided by the infirmary on premises.
“It wasn’t until he saw a third jailhouse doctor on July 8, 2011, that he was sent to Bellevue Hospital for emergency surgery, in which a catheter was implanted in his penis.
“Following surgery he was sent back to the jail with stitches he was told were self-dissolving. But by Aug. 9, 2011, the stitches became embedded in the skin of his penis and had to be removed by a doctor — without anesthesia.
“He suffered permanent injuries to his penis, including loss of function, mutilation of penis, continued pain and discomfort.”
From his description, Cotton went through hell as he found it difficult to walk properly after taking the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal to treat bipolar disorder.
He said, “It didn’t go down. It hurt and it started pounding.”
In legal papers seen by the New York Daily News, Rodney Cotton, from Brooklyn claims he suffered “permanent injuries to his penis” and “loss of function” due to the negligence of doctors at the Manhattan Detention Center and correction officers who ignored his pleas for help.
He said, “They took my manhood. It’s embarrassing. We’re here to create. I can’t perform my duties as a man.
“I had to wear briefs or boxers. I couldn’t wear jeans. They had me walking around like that for almost a week.
“If I had the choice between the reward and having my manhood restored, I’d have my manhood restored in a heartbeat.”
He hopes to start life anew by joining his daughter in Atlanta.
He said, “It’s a new start.”
