Opinion ID: 1405731
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Nurse Radcliff

Text: Nurse Radcliff was the first medical professional to treat Taylor upon her arrival at PCJ. Taylor complained of chest pains. Nurse Radcliff failed to follow PCJ's protocol which requires her to contact a doctor when an inmate complains of chest pains. She also failed to take Taylor's vital signs. Instead, Nurse Radcliff responded to Taylor's complaints by putting her on the list to have her vitals checked each morning, and, according to her own statements, asked Taylor about the severity of her chest pain. More importantly, she had Taylor call her brother to bring her CHF medication to PCJ and put a specific note on Taylor's chart to call the doctor if the medication was not delivered by the next day. [D]eliberate indifference may be inferred based upon a medical professional's erroneous treatment decision only when the medical professional's decision is such a substantial departure from accepted professional judgment, practice, or standards as to demonstrate that the person responsible did not base the decision on such a judgment. Estate of Cole by Pardue v. Fromm, 94 F.3d 254, 261-62 (7th Cir. 1996). If this standard is not met, the deliberate indifference question may not go to the jury. Id. Here, although she did not have Taylor immediately examined by a doctor, given that she took reasonable measures to ensure that Taylor would get her medication, and put a notation in her chart to have her seen by a doctor if they did not arrive, it cannot be said that Nurse Radcliff's judgment departed so substantially from the professional norm that she acted deliberately indifferent to Taylor's health. Nor can it be said that her actions were so dangerous that the deliberate nature of her conduct can be inferred. Qian, 168 F.3d at 955. So, summary judgment in Nurse Radcliff's favor is appropriate.