TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 11, 2025

A former Tennessee state trooper is suing private prison operator CoreCivic after he was allegedly beaten by a cellmate at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, The Tennessean reports. Nicholas Collins claims in the lawsuit that he was denied medical attention for more than three days following the attack, which required two surgeries for multiple facial fractures and left him with six metal plates in his head. In 2023, Collins was sentenced to more than six years in prison for aggravated domestic assault and vandalism. He alleges he warned correctional officers that his cellmate had threatened to stab him in his sleep, but no action was taken. A Tennessee Department of Correction report states the day of the assault the two men were “observed engaging in a physical altercation,” resulting in minor injuries to both, and both were charged with fighting. Collins is suing CoreCivic for negligence, seeking $1 million for future medical expenses and suffering, as well as $2 million in punitive damages.