The issue Thursday wasn't whether guards at the medical prison in Augusta beat an inmate so severely they broke bones, but whether the inmate followed the proper prison procedure before filing suit.

Larry Stephens sued Augusta State Medical Prison Warden Tony Howerton and seven guards in 2005. U.S. District Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. will determine whether the lawsuit will proceed.

Prison staff testified Thursday that Mr. Stephens never asked to file a grievance alleging guards physically abused him May 6, 2005. Department of Corrections policy requires prison staff to assist an inmate with writing a grievance complaint if he is unable to do so himself.

Mr. Stephens alleges in his lawsuit that guards beat him so severely that his right arm and shoulder broke and his testicles swelled to four times the normal size.

His attorney, McNeill Stokes, contends what Mr. Stephens says happened to him occurs repeatedly in the state's prisons. At Augusta State Medical Prison, Mr. Stokes said a beating in the elevator is called "taking an inmate for a ride."

Deputy Warden Ron Whitaker testified, however, that he could remember only one inmate ever filing a grievance since 1995 that alleged guards beat him in the elevator.

Mr. Whitaker, whose duties include reviewing all grievances, testified the prison's internal affairs investigate any complaint of physical or sexual abuse.

Mr. Stephens testified that he couldn't file a grievance for almost a month after his injuries because he was held in solitary confinement and was denied the grievance form. When he was released to general population, Mr. Stephens testified, a staff member told him he didn't need to file a grievance because internal affairs was investigating.

Mr. Stephens testified that he has filed more than 70 grievances in seven years. He filed a previous federal lawsuit alleging civil rights violations. It was dismissed.

Mr. Stephens was sentenced in 2000 to 15 years in prison for burglary and other crimes, according to the department's Web site. He is now housed at Ware State Prison in Waycross.