Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-89-08068/USCOURTS-ca10-89-08068-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 

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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

ARLAN GENE REYNOLDSON, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, 

FILED 1 United States Co~rt ~f Appea s 

Tenth C1rt:mt 

JAN 16 1990 

:&OBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

v. No. 89-8068 

OFFICER SMITH, SGT; DUANE 

SHILLLINGER, 

Defendants-Appellees. 

(D.C. No. Misc. 89-052) 

( D. Wyo. ) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

Before SEYMOUR, TACHA, and EBEL, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 

34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore ordered 

submitted without oral argument. 

Arlan Gene Reynoldson appeals the district court's dismissal 

with prejudice of his 42 u.s.c. § 1983 claim alleging cruel and 

unusual punishment and deliberate indifference to medical needs in 

violation of the eighth amendment, U.S. Const. amend. VIII, as 

applied to the states through the fourteenth amendment, U.S. 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall 

not be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, 

except for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of 

the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 

36.3. 

Appellate Case: 89-8068 Document: 01019960707 Date Filed: 01/16/1990 Page: 1 
Const. amend. XIV. We hold that Reynoldson has stated a claim 

under section 1983 and reverse. 

Reynoldson's principal contention is that the prison 

officials were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs when 

he suffered from an adverse reaction to medication. Specifically, 

Reynoldson alleges, which we accept as true for purposes of this 

appeal, that he informed Officer Smith of his reaction and that he 

thought he was having a heart attack; Officer Smith represented 

that he had "told" the infirmary, but in fact did not. Reynoldson 

relies on Ramos v. Lamm, 639 F.2d 559 (10th Cir. 1980), cert. 

denied, 450 U.S. 1041 (1981), in support of his contention. 

We agree with Reynoldson that he has stated a cause of action 

for cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth and fourteenth 

amendments. The Supreme Court, in Estelle~ Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 

104-05 (1976), held that prison guards may act with deliberate 

indifference "in intentionally denying or delaying access to 

medical care." Accepting the complaint's allegations as true, 

Reynoldson has alleged sufficient facts to support an allegation 

that Officer Smith deliberately did not inform the infirmary of 

Reynoldson's seizure. In Meade~ Grubbs, 841 F.2d 1512 (10th 

Cir. 1988), a pretrial detainee alleged that he suffered chest 

pains, felt faint, and that the guards told him that they had sent 

for help but none ever came. We held in that case that Meade had 

stated a cause of action. The instant situation is nearly 

identical. Reynoldson's allegations that Officer Smith acted with 

deliberate indifference toward his serious medical needs are 

2 

Appellate Case: 89-8068 Document: 01019960707 Date Filed: 01/16/1990 Page: 2 
sufficient to state a cause of action. The district court erred 

by dismissing for failure to state a claim. 

The certificate of probable cause and motion to proceed in 

forma pauperis are GRANTED. The judgment of the district court is 

REVERSED and the cause is REMANDED for further proceedings in 

accordance with this opinion. The mandate shall issue forthwith. 

3 

ENTERED FOR THE COURT 

Deanell Reece Tacha 

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 89-8068 Document: 01019960707 Date Filed: 01/16/1990 Page: 3