Opinion ID: 4035366
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Deliberate Indifference by Harris

Text: Zimmerman briefly argues that Harris violated his constitutional rights by displaying deliberate indifference to Zimmerman’s serious medical needs. 3 2 Though the events at issue in Cockrell occurred in 2008, the court cited cases published as late as November 2011 in support of its conclusion. 468 F. App’x at 495-96. 3 Zimmerman’s complaint states that his deliberate indifference claim against Harris arises under the Eighth Amendment. As the district court pointed out, Zimmerman’s claim arises under the Fourteenth Amendment, as he was a pretrial detainee, not a convicted prisoner, at the time of the relevant events. See Kitchen v. Dallas Cty., 759 F.3d 468, 477 (5th Cir. 2014) (“[T]he constitutional rights of a pretrial detainee flow from both the procedural and substantive due process guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment.” 12 In this circuit, a constitutional claim by a pretrial detainee arising from a onetime denial of medical care is governed “by a standard of subjective deliberate indifference as enunciated by the Supreme Court in Farmer [v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994)].” Hare, 74 F.3d at 643. To prove deliberate indifference, Zimmerman must demonstrate that he was exposed to an objectively “substantial risk of serious harm” and that Harris “was actually aware of the risk, yet consciously disregarded it.” Lawson v. Dallas Cty., 286 F.3d 257, 262 (5th Cir. 2002). Zimmerman contends that Harris knew Zimmerman was exposed to a substantial risk of serious harm because Harris saw that Zimmerman’s arm was scratched and bleeding, and because Zimmerman told Harris his arm hurt. Assuming arguendo that Zimmerman has presented sufficient evidence that Harris could have inferred a substantial risk of serious harm, Zimmerman’s claim would still fail because he has offered no evidence that Harris was “actually aware of the risk” of substantial harm and “consciously disregarded it.” See id. The fracture in Zimmerman’s arm was not obvious. His only obvious injuries were the scratches on his arm, for which he received prompt medical attention. Even when crediting all of Zimmerman’s evidence and drawing all reasonable inferences in his favor, no reasonable jury could conclude that Harris displayed deliberate indifference to Zimmerman’s serious medical needs. Summary judgment was therefore appropriate.