Opinion ID: 178734
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendant Jail Doctor, Dr. Deitrick

Text: Plaintiff claims that Dr. Deitrick was deliberately indifferent to Jones's serious medical needs during two periods: first, from March 29, 2005, when he first treated Jones, until April 8, 2005, when Jones was transferred to Hackley Hospital; and second, from April 20, 2005 until May 5, 2005, when Jones was returned to the jail. Plaintiff's claim during the first period is that Dr. Deitrick treated Jones for constipation and ordered routine tests despite the obvious severity of his condition. Similar to the analysis of Defendant Nurses, the district court stated that the notion that Dr. Deitrick's assessment of Jones' medical condition was inadequate or incorrect is insufficient to establish a constitutional claim of deliberate indifference. Jones, at , 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68136, at . Instead, the district court determined that Dr. Deitrick did offer Jones medical attention and that despite the fact that it may have been inadequate, it was not so woefully inadequate as to amount to no treatment at all. Id. at , 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68136, at  (quoting Westlake v. Lucas, 537 F.2d 857, 860 n. 5 (6th Cir.1976)). The district court correctly asserted that courts are generally reluctant to second guess the medical judgment of prison medical officials. Graham ex rel. Estate of Graham v. County of Washtenaw, 358 F.3d 377, 385 (6th Cir.2004) (citation omitted). However, the Sixth Circuit has also recognized that [P]rison officials may not entirely insulate themselves from liability under § 1983 simply by providing some measure of treatment. Indeed, deliberate indifference may be established in cases where it can be shown that a defendant rendered grossly inadequate care or made a decision to take an easier but less efficacious course of treatment. McCarthy v. Place, 313 Fed.Appx. 810, 814 (6th Cir.2008) (quoting Terrance v. Northville Reg'l Psychiatric Hosp., 286 F.3d 834, 843 (6th Cir.2002)). Generally, courts find deliberate indifference where there is evidence tending to establish that the physician is present while the inmate is in distress, that distress is communicated to the physician, and the physician purposefully ignores the distress knowing that an adverse outcome is likely to occur. See, e.g., Gibson v. Moskowitz, 523 F.3d 657 (6th Cir.2008) (upholding the jury's finding of deliberate indifference where the psychiatrist knew that Plaintiff's medication would elevate his temperature, knew the room he was in was ninety-plus degrees and did nothing about it, causing inmate to die of dehydration); McCarthy, 313 Fed.Appx. at 815 (reversing the district court's judgment in favor of the defendant-dentist and finding an issue of fact with regard to deliberate indifference where the prison's dentist saw the inmate who expressed significant pain due to a cavity and treated him only with ibuprofen for seven months instead of filling the tooth as he had performed for other inmates). In this case, Dr. Deitrick first examined Jones on March 29, 2005. By that time, he had lost nearly fifty pounds, complained of sharp stomach pain, noted that he had been having small loose stools, and stated that he had not had a bowel movement in two days. In his medical chart, Dr. Deitrick stated I think this is obstipation [severe constipation]not completely resolvedwill give Dulcolax [a laxative]. He also noted that he encouraged Jones to drink plenty of water. On April 5, 2005, one week later, Dr. Deitrick met with Jones who continued to complain of sharp stomach pains, stated that he had stopped taking the medication because they didn't work, and had lost another nine pounds from the previous week. Dr. Deitrick then scheduled a series of tests, which included a liver and kidney profile and CT scan for the following day. Several days later, when Jones's condition became dramatically worse, he was transferred to Hackley Hospital. Upon Jones's discharge from Hackley, Dr. Deitrick was merely tasked with providing pre-determined medications. Dr. Deitrick saw Jones on April 26, 2005 during his next regular round, instructed the nursing staff on administering Jones's medication and told them that all other issues were to be treated by Dr. Veronica Petty, Jones's general surgeon. On May 3, Dr. Deitrick noted in the medical chart concerns about the ability of the jail to properly treat Jones in his dying days. Dr. Deitrick's initial diagnosis and treatment of Jones with a laxative seems inappropriate in light of Jones's substantial weight loss and sharp stomach pain; however, Jones had indicated an inability to have a bowel movement for several days and other stomach pains, which could have been consistent with Dr. Deitrick's diagnosis of obstipation. Even though Dr. Deitrick's initial diagnosis was incorrect, [n]egligence in diagnosing a medical condition does not constitute unconstitutional deliberate indifference. Bertl v. City of Westland, No. 07-2547, 2009 WL 247907, at , 2009 U.S.App. LEXIS 2086, at  (6th Cir. Feb. 2, 2009) (quoting Sanderfer v. Nichols, 62 F.3d 151, 154 (6th Cir.1995)). Furthermore, the record shows that, after his initial visit with Jones, Dr. Deitrick scheduled various exams to determine more precisely what was affecting Jones and transferred him to the hospital when it was apparent that his condition was worsening. A reasonable jury would not conclude that Dr. Deitrick's conduct in this regard amounted to grossly inadequate care. See McCarthy, 313 F.App'x at 814. After Jones was transferred to the hospital, there is no evidence that Dr. Deitrick was requested to provide or made aware of the need to provide any specific treatment beyond what he was instructed to administer pursuant to Hackley Hospital's discharge form. Consequently, we affirm the district court's judgment in favor of Dr. Deitrick.