The U.S. Supreme Court has held federal medical officials are shielded from personal liability for failing to diagnose the penile cancer of a Salvadoran immigrant who died after being released from custody.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the unanimous opinion (PDF), the Associated Press reports. The officials are exempted from personal liability because of protections under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the opinion said. The law makes suits against the United States the exclusive remedy.

The immigrant who died, Francisco Castaneda, was detained by immigration officials and spent time in the San Diego Correctional Facility.

A federal judge had called the case “one of the most, if not the most, egregious Eighth Amendment violations the court has ever encountered.” For 11 months the officials had ignored recommendations by several physicians for a biopsy of a painful penis lesion. "Instead, Castaneda was treated with ibuprofen and antibiotics and was given an additional ration of boxer shorts," Sotomayor said. When the biopsy was finally authorized, immigration officials released Castaneda instead of providing treatment.

Sotomayor's opinion notes that amici had urged an opposite result, warning that immunity for the medical personnel is against the public interest. "We are required, however, to re