Opinion ID: 3036756
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Policy as the Moving Force Behind the Violation

Text: For a policy to be the moving force behind the deprivation of a constitutional right, the identified deficiency in the policy must be “closely related to the ultimate injury.” Gibson, 290 F.3d at 1196 (citation omitted). The plaintiff’s burden is to establish “ ‘that the injury would have been avoided’ ” had proper policies been implemented. Id. (quoting Oviatt, 954 F.2d at 1478). Thus, in order to demonstrate that the County’s policy deficiencies were the moving force behind the deprivation of Mr. Idlet’s constitutional rights, Appellant must prove that the injury to Mr. Idlet would have been avoided had the County adequately trained MSB medical staff and/or instituted adequate general policies to guide the medical staff’s exercise of its professionally-informed discretion. The evidence Appellant has presented creates a triable issue as to whether the County’s policy deficiencies were the moving force behind Mr. Idlet’s death.