Opinion ID: 2979625
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Eighth-Amendment Claims

Text: The Eighth Amendment prohibits prison officials from “unnecessarily and wantonly inflicting pain” on prisoners by acting with “deliberate indifference” to their “serious medical needs.” Blackmore v. Kalamazoo Cnty., 390 F.3d 890, 895 (6th Cir. 2004) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Such a claim has both a subjective and objective component. Id. The -4- No. 08-6432 Barnett v. Luttrell, et al. objective component mandates a sufficiently serious medical need. Id. The subjective component regards prison officials’ state of mind. Id. Deliberate indifference “entails something more than mere negligence, but can be satisfied by something less than acts or omissions for the very purpose of causing harm or with knowledge that harm will result.” Id. at 895-96 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The prison official must “be aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and he must also draw the inference.” Id. at 896 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
Barnett alleges that Terrie, a nurse, gave him Dilantin, an anti-seizure medication, rather than the ibuprofen he was supposed to receive. He alleges further that she “left the ‘scene’ of the incident without supervision of plaintiff [sic] care” and “violated plaintiff [sic] care by denying plaintiff of [sic] treatment for headache after plaintiff [sic] fall.”1 The subjective component of EighthAmendment claims “is meant to prevent the constitutionalization of medical malpractice claims,” Dominguez v. Correctional Med. Servs., 555 F.3d 543, 550 (6th Cr. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted), and Barnett alleges no facts suggesting that Terrie’s incorrect administration of Dilantin was anything other than negligent. It thus constituted medical malpractice at most and cannot constitute an Eighth-Amendment violation. See id. 1 Barnett alleged below also that the Dilantin caused him a rash, but he seems to have abandoned that claim on appeal, so we do not consider it. See Bickel v. Korean Air Lines Co., 96 F.3d 151, 153 (6th Cir. 1996). -5- No. 08-6432 Barnett v. Luttrell, et al. However, Barnett’s claim that Terrie abandoned him after his fall without providing him with any treatment does state a plausible claim for relief under the Eighth Amendment. Terrie’s alleged presence at the fall and subsequent departure satisfy the subjective requirement. See Blackmore, 390 F.3d at 895-96. And the fact that Barnett, a pro se non-lawyer, titles many of his claims “medical negligence” is immaterial, for a plaintiff pleads facts, not legal claims. See Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. at 1949. It is our job to place those facts into the corresponding legal boxes. See id. As for the other component of an Eighth-Amendment claim, head injuries—especially after as significant a fall as the one Barnett alleges—are sufficiently serious to satisfy the objective requirement. See Talal v. White, 403 F.3d 423, 427 (6th Cir. 2005); see also Williams, 2011 WL 284494, at  (finding that “coughing and a shortage of oxygen” is adequately serious, and that—in any case—the “de minimus” nature of an injury is an insufficient basis for dismissal of a complaint). In Talal, we found “sinus problems and dizziness” adequate to constitute a serious medical need. 403 F.3d at 427. Here, the headaches and pain caused by the fall are of comparable nature to the injuries alleged in Talal, so we find that Barnett has adequately pled an Eighth-Amendment claim against Terrie. The dismissal of this claim against her was thus in error.
Barnett’s allegation against Hicks, the shift officer on duty when Terrie allegedly improperly gave Barnett Dilantin, is that she sent Barnett to the medical unit without an escort. Barnett, however, does not allege facts that would give us any reason to believe Hicks understood the significance of Barnett’s ingestion of Dilantin, including any immediate side effects such as dizziness. At most, Hicks’s actions constitute negligence, which is not actionable under the Eighth -6- No. 08-6432 Barnett v. Luttrell, et al. Amendment. See Blackmore, 390 F.3d at 895. The district court thus properly dismissed Hicks as a party.
Aside from the 2002-related claims addressed above, Barnett alleges that Cooper, the prison medical director, failed to adequately supervise the nursing staff and did not provide medical treatment after his Dilantin-related fall (that Cooper did “not se[e] to plaintiff getting the proper medical attention and treatment”). Because Barnett does not allege that Cooper took any deliberate action or otherwise involved himself personally in Terrie’s purported actions, the failure-to-supervise claim is not well taken. See Shehee v. Luttrell, 199 F.3d 295, 300 (6th Cir. 1999) (requiring “either encourage[ment of] the specific incident of misconduct or in some other way direct[] participat[ion] in it” for supervisory liability under § 1983). However, Barnett’s allegation that Cooper took no action to treat Barnett’s fall-caused head injuries adequately states a claim for relief. Barnett alleges that he made Cooper aware of the injury through the health-service-request and grievance processes, satisfying the subjective requirement. See Blackmore, 390 F.3d at 895-96. And, as explained above, the purported head injuries are sufficiently serious to meet the objective requirement. See Talal, 403 F.3d at 427. Barnett thus sufficiently pled an Eighth-Amendment claim against Cooper, and the dismissal of this claim against Cooper was in error.
Barnett alleges that Webb violated his rights based on actions taken in 2002 and potential harm caused to others. As explained above, those arguments fail as a matter of law. One allegation remains: an unclear complaint regarding Webb’s purported delay in receiving results from a 2004 -7- No. 08-6432 Barnett v. Luttrell, et al. tuberculosis test and getting Barnett medication for his disease. This allegation alternates between alleging negligence for incorrectly checking the results of his tuberculosis test and deliberate failure to treat for a period of time. To the extent that Barnett alleges negligence, his claim is not actionable. See Blackmore, 390 F.3d at 895. His claim of deliberate delayed failure to treat, meanwhile, does not allege a sufficiently serious consequence of that purported delay to survive dismissal. See id. at 897-98. The district court thus properly dismissed Webb as a party.
Because they are partially time-barred and partially precluded by standing, Barnett’s allegations against Stipanuk regarding the 2002 diagnosis or counseling regarding tuberculosis must fail. Barnett also alleges, seemingly for the first time on appeal, that Stipanuk is liable for his failure to train and supervise the nurses that Barnett sues. Because Barnett did not advance this argument below, we may not consider this claim. See Varhola v. Doe, 820 F.2d 809, 815 n.4 (6th Cir. 1987). Yet even were we to consider the merits of this argument, Barnett has failed to allege facts that would indicate Stipanuk “either encouraged the specific incident of misconduct or in some other way directly participated in it.” Shehee, 199 F.3d at 300 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The district court thus properly dismissed Stipanuk as a party.
Barnett alleges that Luttrell, the Shelby County Sheriff, failed to adequately train and supervise jail employees. However, there is no respondeat superior liability under § 1983, and Barnett does not allege that Luttrell encouraged or participated in any particular unconstitutional action. See id. A failure-to-train claim, meanwhile, is properly directed against the municipality. -8- No. 08-6432 Barnett v. Luttrell, et al. See Phillips v. Roane Cnty., Tenn., 534 F.3d 531, 543-44 (6th Cir. 2008). The district court thus properly dismissed Luttrell as a party. 7. Defendants Shelby County and Correctional Medical Services Barnett argues that Shelby County and CMS failed to train and supervise their employees, but he points to no deliberate action by CMS, see Shehee, 199 F.3d at 300, and does not allege facts indicating a particular municipal policy or custom of deliberate indifference, see Miller v. Sanilac Cnty., 606 F.3d 240, 255 (6th Cir. 2010). Barnett thus has not adequately pled these claims, and the district court properly dismissed Shelby County and CMS as defendants.