NEW YORK — Lawyers for Harvey Weinstein filed a lawsuit Tuesday against New York City, alleging he was receiving substandard medical treatment in unsanitary conditions while detained at Rikers Island.
The notice of claim, which is the first step toward filing a complaint, accuses the establishment of failing to handle the former movie mogul’s health issues, including chronic myelogenous leukemia and diabetes, and neglect ranging from “freezing” conditions to lack of clean clothing.
The city’s Law Department and Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“When I last visited him, I found him with blood splatters on his prison outfit, probably from IVs, clothes that hadn’t been washed in weeks, and no one had not even provided him with clean underwear – difficult sanitary conditions for someone with serious medical conditions,” Weinstein’s lawyer, Imran H. Ansari, said in a statement, comparing the facility to a “. gulag.”
Legal claim says Weinstein returned to Rikers too soon after hospitalizations
Weinstein, 72, has been in police custody since the beginning of this yearfollowing an appeals court decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction in the state. The case should be retried in 2025. Weinstein has denied any wrongdoing.
Weinstein was briefly hospitalized in April And again in July for health problems. His team said he was treated for diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, COVID-19 and fluid in his heart and lungs.
The suit, which seeks $5 million in damages, claims he was returned to Rikers each time before he was fully recovered.
Weinstein’s film production company went bankrupt after his conviction, creating a $17 million sexual misconduct claims fund.
Rikers Island Prison expected to be closed in 2027but the city has pushed back the deadlines to do so.
