Opinion ID: 178734
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Count IIGross Negligence

Text: The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants on Plaintiff's gross negligence claim and stated the following: [f]or the same reasons discussed above with respect to plaintiffs' § 1983 claims of deliberate indifference, plaintiffs' claims fail under Michigan law since there is no triable issue regarding whether defendants were grossly negligent or reckless in their treatment of Jones' medical needs. Jones, at , 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68136, at . The Sixth Circuit, however, has determined that the standard for deliberate indifference and the standard for gross negligence are different. This court, in Schack v. City of Taylor, 177 Fed.Appx. 469, 471 (6th Cir.2006), stated [d]eliberate indifference is akin to criminal recklessness. This court further stated that [i]t is a very high standard of culpability, exceeding gross negligence. Ross v. Duggan, 402 F.3d 575, 590 n. 7 (6th Cir.2004) (quotation omitted). Michigan Comp. Laws § 691.1407(2)(c) defines gross negligence as conduct so reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury results. The district court did not sufficiently distinguish deliberate indifference from gross negligence and did not recognize that deliberate indifference is a more stringent standard. Applying the appropriate gross negligence standard to the instant case, we conclude that only Plaintiff's claims against Nurses Mastee and Yonker survive. As discussed above, there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether these nurses acted with deliberate indifference. However, there is no analogous evidence pointing to liability on Nurse Malenko's behalf. In regard to Nurses Mastee and Yonker, because the deliberate indifference standard is higher than the standard for gross negligence, there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether this lower standard has also been met by the same evidence. With regard to the Corrections Officers, however, Plaintiff failed to point to any specific guard's wrongful conduct as discussed above; and consequently, there has been no factual showing indicating that any individual officer was grossly negligent. Therefore, summary judgment was properly granted in favor of the Corrections Officers on this state claim. Lastly, with regard to the County, Michigan's Governmental Tort Liability Act provides that a governmental agency, such as a county, is immune from liability where it is engaged in the exercise or discharge of a governmental function. Mich. Comp. Laws § 691.1407(1). Plaintiff has not pointed to any conduct by the County in which it acted beyond its governmental function and has not argued that any exception to the County's immunity applies. Accordingly, this court affirms the district court's grant of summary judgment in the County's favor on Plaintiff's gross negligence claim.