Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-01270/USCOURTS-ca8-05-01270-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 

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United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-1270

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Bradley R. Ham, *

*

Appellant, *

*

v. * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the

Pennington County Board of * District of South Dakota.

Commissioners; Donald Holloway, *

Sheriff of Pennington County; Scott *

Schuft, Jail Administrator; Sheryl * [UNPUBLISHED]

Jackson, Head Nurse of Jackson *

Nursing Service, *

*

Appellees. *

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Submitted: December 23, 2005

Filed: December 30, 2005 

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Before ARNOLD, FAGG, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Bradley Ham, whose leg was amputated below the knee shortly before he

arrived at South Dakota’s Pennington County Jail in November 1999, filed a 42

U.S.C. § 1983 action for damages against the Pennington County Board of

Commissioners, Sheriff Donald Holloway, Jail Administrator Scott Schuft, and Nurse

Sheryl Jackson of Jackson Nursing Service. Following this court’s remand in Webb

Appellate Case: 05-1270 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/30/2005 Entry ID: 1991649
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The Honorable Andrew W. Bogue, United States District Judge for the District

of South Dakota. 

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v. Pennington County Bd. of Comm’rs, 92 Fed. Appx. 364 (8th Cir. Dec. 22, 2003)

(unpublished per curiam), the district court1

 granted summary judgment in favor of

defendants on Ham’s claims of deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs,

and he appeals.

Having reviewed the record de novo and in a light most favorable to Ham, see

Jolly v. Knudsen, 205 F.3d 1094, 1096 (8th Cir. 2000), and viewing Ham’s claims

under the Fourteenth Amendment, see Hartsfield v. Colburn, 371 F.3d 454, 456-57

(8th Cir. 2004), we agree with the district court that Ham did not establish liability

on the part of the named defendants. Although Ham presented evidence that his

condition worsened as a result of treatment delays, he did not allege an

unconstitutional policy, and he did not present evidence establishing an

unconstitutional custom, or pervasive misconduct, sufficient to hold the Pennington

County Board of Commissioners liable. Cf. Anderson v. Franklin County, 192 F.3d

1125, 1131-32 (8th Cir. 1999) (county may not be held liable on respondeat-superior

theory under § 1983 for injury inflicted solely by its employees, unless injury resulted

from execution of county policy or custom or known inadequacies in training

procedures); Spencer v. Knapheide Truck Equip. Co., 183 F.3d 902, 905 (8th Cir.

1999) (official-capacity claims against police board members must be treated as

claims against municipality; § 1983 municipal liability requires proof of

constitutional violation pursuant to official policy or misconduct so pervasive among

employees as to constitute custom or usage), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1157 (2000).

In addition, Ham’s official-capacity claims against Holloway and Schuft are

redundant to the claim against Pennington County. See Artis v. Francis Howell N.

Band Booster Ass’n, Inc., 161 F.3d 1178, 1182 (8th Cir. 1998) (if complaint does not

specifically name public official in individual capacity, it is presumed he is sued only

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in official capacity). Even if we assume Ham named Holloway and Schuft in their

individual capacities, he did not offer evidence of their or Jackson’s personal

involvement in any decision to deny or delay his medical treatment. See Dulany v.

Carnahan, 132 F.3d 1234, 1239 (8th Cir. 1997) (defendant violates Eighth

Amendment by intentionally denying or delaying access to treatment for inmate’s

objectively serious medical need, or by intentionally interfering with inmate’s

prescribed treatment); cf. Meloy v. Bachmeier, 302 F.3d 845, 849 (8th Cir. 2002)

(discussing requirements for supervisory liability under § 1983; prison medicaltreatment director who lacks medical expertise cannot be liable for treating staff’s

diagnostic decisions, and prison officials cannot substitute their judgment for medical

professional’s prescription); McDowell v. Jones, 990 F.2d 433, 435 (8th Cir. 1993)

(supervisor-liability standard). Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district

court.

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