A man left unable to have sex after a rat allegedly bit his penis while he was being held in a New York jail is planning to reopen the infamous case.

Vietnam war veteran Peter Solomon, 63, made international headlines in 2011 when a judge granted him permission to launch a lawsuit against New York authorities.

He claims he suffered severe injuries and mental distress due to the rat bite, but his case ultimately failed because the filing fee of $455 USD was not paid on time.

Mr Solomon, from Elmont, New York, said: “I am still unable to have sex with my wife and I’m still in near constant pain in my genitals.

“I took bullets for this country in Vietnam and I’ll never be able to walk right again, but this injury really didn’t need to happen.

“I have PTSD from Vietnam but the worst fear I experience is actually from the rat.

“I have nightmares every night about it. Every time I close my eyes I feel like a rat is going to jump out and bite me again.

“I can’t have sex and I can’t masturbate. I still have the urges but I just can’t do it. I can’t get an erection and a semi erection is very painful, even urinating can be painful.

“I have a keloid scar on my penis from the bite and scars on my legs from where the rat scratched me.

“Half the prisons are infested with vermin. They don’t treat prisoners humanely. The vermin problem was worse then than it is now.

“Since I was in there parts of the prison have been remodeled, there are less rats in there now, but that doesn’t help me.”

The alleged rodent attack occurred in 2007 while Solomon was being held in the Nassau County Correctional Center, pending trial on charges he had menaced his first wife.

Solomon, who is married with four children, two from a previous marriage, was admitted to the Nassau University Medical Center where his injuries were treated and he received rabies shots.

He added: “I had to go to hospital and be examined by a lots of doctors. It was humiliating.”

Mr Solomon was released after a month behind bars when the charges were dropped.

In January of 2011 US District Judge Arthur Spatt ruled that Mr Solomon had the right to sue Nassau County for the incident.

The court documents read: “Solomon alleges that a rodent emerged from a hole in his mattress while he slept and bit him on the penis. Solomon pulled the rodent from his penis and threw it away from him.”

Judge Spatt wrote at the time: “The parties dispute whether the rodent was a mouse or a rat, whether Solomon was bitten or scratched, and the nature and extent of his injuries.”

Mr Solomon claims that he will re-launch the case with a personal injury lawyer later this year.

He said: “I haven’t reopened this case yet but I plan to do so very soon. I am already in talks with an attorney.”