A MAN WHO CLAIMS HIS penis was bitten by a rat or similar rodent while he was in jail in New York has been given permission to sue, the New York Law Journal reports.

Peter Solomon was jailed in February 2007 after being arrested on suspicion of harassing his wife and says it was during this detention that he was bitten and subsequently underwent anti-rabies treatment.

He alleges that staff at the Nassau County prison were aware that they had detained him in an area infested with rodents, although Nassau County claims that there was no evidence of the vermin at the jail.

A Vietnam veteran in his 50s who says he has been treated for post-traumatic stress, Solomon claimed Nassau County failed to protect him from the rodents.

He says prison inmates filed 11 formal complaints in the 23 months before he was bitten, and one person discovered a “rodent part” in their meal.

A federal judge in New York noted that Solomon did not suffer significant blood loss and the wound did not need stitches, but gave Solomon permission to proceed with his action against Nassau County.