Opinion ID: 3062972
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Prison Infirmary

Text: Smith, an inmate at the Okeechobee Correctional Facility (“the prison”), filed his pro se § 1983 complaint alleging Eighth Amendment, First Amendment, and Due Process claims against (1) James McDonough, the Secretary of Corrections for the Florida Department of Corrections, in his official capacity; and (2) J. Wade, a prison nurse practitioner, in his individual capacity, and (3) Sergeant Scott Murphy and Major T. Sheffield, correctional officers, in their individual capacities. We outline the allegations. On July 21, 2004, a sheriff’s deputy at the courthouse hit Smith, breaking his pelvis. The emergency room doctor told Smith “that there was nothing that could be done orthopedically, so [Smith] could not get out of bed for 5-7 days, although the doctor did not tell [Smith] any prognosis or treatment to follow that confinement to bed.” An ambulance took Smith back to prison and he went 2 directly to a bed in the prison infirmary. Defendant Nurse Wade was in charge of medical services in the prison infirmary.1 For the next twelve days, Smith got out of bed only to go to the bathroom using a wheelchair. On August 2, 2004, Nurse Wade started Smith using a walker in the infirmary. Smith used the walker to move between the beds and to the bathroom. Due to pain, Smith could walk only between 50 and 150 feet before having to return to bed and could not put his full weight on his left leg. Smith increased his walks from three to six walks per day. On August 4, 2004, Nurse Wade observed Smith take six steps using the walker and “commented about discharging [Smith] from the infirmary.” Smith complained that due to his pain, it was not possible for him to walk more than about 150 feet and he could not possibly do all the walking that was required, or sleep on the hard mattresses, if he was discharged to the general population. Nurse Wade did not take X-rays of Smith’s pelvis or examine the X-rays taken at the emergency room. Later, another nurse, Nurse Ford, told Smith that he was released from the infirmary. When Smith protested, Nurse Ford gave Smith two medical passes: one 1 While Smith was in the infirmary in July 2004, Nurse Wade was a named defendant in a pending § 1983 action Smith had filed in Florida state court on March 9, 2004. This § 1983 action concerned the treatment Smith received for a chronic itching condition. 3 for a lower bunk, lower tier cell assignment for one year and another for handicapped-meal seating for one month. Nurse Ford warned Smith that if he did not leave the infirmary, she would notify security. Smith asked Nurse Ford to inform Nurse Wade that he could not leave because he could not walk the distances required without extreme pain. In response, Defendant Sergeant Murphy and another correctional officer came to the infirmary.2 Sergeant Murphy ordered Smith to leave the infirmary. Smith twice repeated that he could not leave because he could not walk the distances in the open population. Sergeant Murphy asked Smith if he was refusing to leave the infirmary, and Smith responded, “Yes.” Sergeant Murphy returned with Defendant Major Sheffield. Smith repeated that he could not leave and said he needed a few more days in the infirmary to heal. Major Sheffield responded that Smith would be placed in administrative confinement pending a disciplinary report (“DR”) for refusing to obey an order and “that would resolve [Smith’s] having to deal with walking . . . and give him time to heal.” Smith’s complaint explains that administrative confinement involves 24hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week cell lockdown with food brought to the cell. 2 At the time, Sergeant Murphy was a named defendant in a pending § 1983 action that Smith had filed in Florida state court on September 9, 2003. This § 1983 action concerned disciplinary action taken against Smith, which Smith claimed was retaliatory harassment. 4 Major Sheffield had a wheelchair brought and ordered Smith into it. Smith in the wheelchair was taken to administrative confinement.