Source: http://il.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20110617_0001567.NIL.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-03-29 09:38:34
Document Index: 526791119

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1983', '§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1983', '§ 1983']

| Robert Allen v. Wexford Health Sources
Robert Allen v. Wexford Health Sources
ROBERT ALLENv.WEXFORD HEALTH SOURCES, INC., ET AL.
(#N-03705)
The plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc [3]) is granted. The court orders the trust fund officer at the plaintiff's place of incarceration to deduct $16.90 from the plaintiff's account for payment to the Clerk of Court as an initial partial filing fee, and to continue making monthly deductions in accordance with this order. The plaintiff's motions for appointment of counsel (Doc [4]) and for court-ordered access to the law library (Doc [5]) are denied. The plaintiff may proceed against defendants Ghosh, Halloran, Downs, and Wexford Health Sources on his Eighth Amendment medical claims. The complaint is dismissed on initial review as to all other claims and defendants pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. The clerk is directed to: (1) send copies of this order to the trust fund officer and warden of the Stateville Correctional Center; (2) issue summonses for service on defendants Ghosh, Halloran, Downs, and Wexford Health Sources by the U.S. Marshal; and (3) mail the plaintiff a Magistrate Judge Consent Form and Instructions for Submitting Documents along with a copy of this order. The complaint is dismissed on initial review as to all other defendants pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
The plaintiff, a state prisoner, has brought this pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The plaintiff claims that the defendants, correctional officials and health care providers, violated the plaintiff's constitutional rights by acting with deliberate indifference to his safety and serious medical needs. More specifically, the plaintiff alleges that he stumbled and fell twice when exiting from prison vans by stepping onto a milk crate that had been used as a makeshift step stool; he additionally maintains that he received inadequate medical care for his injuries.
The plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1), the plaintiff is assessed an initial partial filing fee of $16.90. The trust fund officer at the plaintiff's place of incarceration is authorized and ordered to collect the partial filing fee from the plaintiff's trust fund account and pay it directly to the Clerk of Court. After payment of the initial partial filing fee, the plaintiff's trust fund officer is directed to collect monthly payments from the plaintiff's trust fund account in an amount equal to 20% of the preceding month's income credited to the account. Monthly payments shall be forwarded to the Clerk of Court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10 until the full $350 filing fee is paid. All payments shall be sent to the Clerk, United States District Court, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, Illinois 60604, attn: Cashier's Desk, 20th Floor, and shall clearly identify the plaintiff's name and this case number. This payment obligation will follow the plaintiff wherever he may be transferred.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the court is required to conduct a prompt threshold review of the complaint. Here, accepting the plaintiff's allegations as true, the court finds that the plaintiff has articulated a colorable federal cause of action against defendants in connection with the alleged denial of medical care. Correctional officials and health care providers may not act with deliberate indifference to an inmate's serious medical needs. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104 (1976); Walker v. Benjamin, 293 F.3d 1030, 1037 (7th Cir. 2002). The fact that a prisoner received some medical treatment does not necessarily defeat his claim; deliberate indifference to a serious medical need can be manifested by "blatantly inappropriate" treatment, Greeno v. Daley, 414 F.3d 645, 654 (7th Cir. 2005) (emphasis in original), or by "woefully inadequate action" as well as by no action at all. Reed v. McBride, 178 F.3d 849, 854 (7th Cir. 1999). It should be noted that neither medical malpractice nor a mere disagreement with a doctor's medical judgment amounts to deliberate indifference. Berry v. Peterman, 604 F.3d 435, 441 (7th Cir. 2010); Estelle, 429 U.S. at 106; Greeno, 414 F.3d at 653. Nevertheless, the plaintiff's allegations of deliberate indifference to his pain and other ailments state an arguable claim against defendants Halloran, Downs, Ghosh, and Wexford Health Sources.
However, the other named defendants cannot be held responsible for the allegedly inadequate medical care. The doctrine of respondeat superior (blanket supervisory liability) does not apply to actions filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See, e.g., Kinslow v. Pullara, 538 F.3d 687, 692 (7th Cir. 2008). Section 1983 does not create collective or vicarious responsibility. Id. To be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, supervisors "must know about the conduct and facilitate it, approve it, condone it, or turn a blind eye for fear of what they might see." T.E. v. Grindle, 599 F.3d 583, 588 (7th Cir. 2010) (quoting Jones v. City of Chicago, 856 F.2d 985, 992 (7th Cir. 1988)).
The court recognizes that a supervisory official may learn of a constitutional violation by way of a grievance, and may become personally involved by ignoring such grievances. See Santiago v. Walls, 599 F.3d 749, 758-59 (7th Cir. 2010); see also Knight v. Wiseman, 590 F.3d 458, 463 (7th Cir. 2009). But in the case at bar, the plaintiff was being seen by health care professionals during the time period in question. The plaintiff therefore has no cause of action against administrative and grievance officials, who reasonably relied on the medical experts who were treating him, albeit not to his satisfaction. Correctional officials are shielded from liability where, as here, a plaintiff is receiving ongoing care from health care professionals. See, e.g., Johnson v. Snyder, 444 F.3d 579, 586 (7th Cir. 2006) (fact that plaintiff's medical needs were being addressed by the medical staff insulated the warden from liability); contrast Reed v. McBride, 178 F.3d 849, 854-56 (7th Cir. 1999) (warden was required to act where officials allegedly denied an inmate life-sustaining medication and food). "The Governor, and for that matter the Superintendent of Prisons and the Warden of each prison, is entitled to relegate to the prison's medical staff the provision of good medical care." Burks v. Raemisch, 555 F.3d 592, 595 (7th Cir. 2009). The plaintiff may proceed only against medical care providers themselves (and Officer Downs, who allegedly denied the plaintiff access to the health care unit).
In addition, while it is most unfortunate that the plaintiff tripped and fell while using the milk crate as a step stool, the matter does not implicate the Constitution.
The Constitution "imposes upon prison officials the duty to take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of the inmates." Santiago v. Walls, 599 F.3d 749, 758 (7th Cir. 2010), (citing Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832 (1994)). To establish a Fourteenth Amendment claim that correctional officials acted with deliberate indifference to his safety, a plaintiff must show that: (1) he was "incarcerated under conditions posing a substantial risk of serious harm," and (2) defendant-officials acted with "deliberate indifference" to that risk. Santiago, 599 F.3d at 756; Farmer, 511 U.S. at 834. In the case at bar, the plaintiff cannot satisfy either prong.
To satisfy the objective prong, a plaintiff must demonstrate not only that he or she experienced, or was exposed to, a serious harm, but also that there was a known substantial risk that serious harm might actually occur. Santiago, 599 F.3d at 758 (citing Brown v. Budz, 398 F.3d 904, 910 (7th Cir. 2005)). The general definition of "substantial risk" includes "risks so great that they ...