Opinion ID: 178734
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Defendant County

Text: Plaintiff asserts that the County is liable for the deliberate indifference of its employees with respect to Jones's serious medical needs. Counties may not be held vicariously liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the actions of their employees or agents. Monell v. New York City Dep't. of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). However, counties may be held directly liable for a constitutional violation committed through a county policy or practice. See City of St. Louis v. Praprotnik, 485 U.S. 112, 121, 108 S.Ct. 915, 99 L.Ed.2d 107 (1988). Liability may be imposed on a county only when a county policy or custom caused the plaintiff's injury and a direct causal link existed between the policy and the purported denial of the right to adequate medical care. See Ford v. County of Grand Traverse, 535 F.3d 483, 495-97 (6th Cir. 2008); (quoting Bd. of County Comm'rs of Bryan County v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 403-04, 117 S.Ct. 1382, 137 L.Ed.2d 626 (1997)). In this case, where no formal policy exists, the critical question is whether there is a particular custom or practice that `although not authorized by written law or express municipal policy, is so permanent and well settled as to constitute a custom or usage with the force of law.' McClendon v. City of Detroit, 255 Fed. Appx. 980, 982 (6th Cir.2007) (quoting Praprotnik, 485 U.S. at 127, 108 S.Ct. 915 (citation and quotation marks omitted)). Plaintiff maintains that the Muskegon County Jail had an established custom in which the jail employees ignored the serious medical needs of jail inmates. Plaintiff maintains that the following evidence demonstrates this custom: (1) the lack of attention to Jones's medical condition by jail personnel; (2) statements by Defendant Nurse Yonker to the effect that inmates are not supposed to feel good; and (3) examples of four other inmates at the jail whose various medical needs were ignored. The four other inmates include Ring, who contends that between May and June of 2005, his repeated requests for medical attention for a kidney stone were ignored; Yager, who claims that between January and March of 2000 the nurse refused to examine her leg, which was later determined to be broken; Lawson, who contends that medical kites regarding a back injury were ignored between September and November of 2008; and James Jameson, who according to the statement of Ring, was left on his cell floor for hours while having a seizure. This evidence that Plaintiff relies on, however, does not demonstrate that the County Jail had a custom that was so widespread, permanent, and well settled as to have the force of law. Kinzer v. City of W. Carrollton, No. 3:07-cv-111, 2008 WL 3200652, at , 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61203, at  (S.D.Ohio Aug. 5, 2008). Although Plaintiff did present evidence that several inmates' medical requests were ignored by jail personnel, including Jones's, a jury could not reasonably infer from these five incidents alone that the County had a widespread, permanent, and well-settled custom of ignoring inmate requests. See Pineda v. City of Houston, 291 F.3d 325, 329 (5th Cir.2002) (holding that the eleven incidents of warrantless searches were not enough to support a claim for a pattern of illegality in one of the nation's largest cities and police forces as the same size of alleged constitutional violations was too small). Furthermore, Nurse Yonker's statement that inmates are not supposed to feel good does not demonstrate any purported custom by the County Jail, only an unfortunate statement by one prison employee. Because Plaintiff failed to establish a custom of deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of inmates at the Muskegon County Jail, the court affirms the district court's grant of summary judgment in the County's favor.