Court Opinion

ID: 9409879
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-19 19:02:01.004222+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:54.083261
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 21-13634    Document: 21-1      Date Filed: 07/19/2023   Page: 1 of 11

                                                   [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                    In the
                 United States Court of Appeals
                         For the Eleventh Circuit

                           ____________________

                                 No. 21-13634
                           Non-Argument Calendar
                           ____________________

        DRAESHUND KENAITAY MAGEE,
                                                       Plaintiﬀ-Appellant,
        versus
        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                                                     Defendant-Appellee.

                           ____________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                     for the Northern District of Alabama
                   D.C. Docket No. 1:20-cv-00294-MHH-HNJ
                           ____________________
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        2                      Opinion of the Court                 21-13634

        Before JORDAN, BRANCH, and GRANT, Circuit Judges.
        PER CURIAM:
               Draeshund K. Magee, a former federal prisoner proceeding
        pro se, appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment on
        his medical malpractice claim against the United States, brought
        pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act and the Alabama Medical
        Liability Act. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its
        discretion in denying Magee’s motion to appoint a medical expert,
        and that it correctly determined that Magee could not prove one
        or more elements of his medical malpractice claim without sup-
        porting expert testimony. We therefore affirm.
                                          I.
               Magee filed a civil complaint against the United States under
        the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging that prison medical staff at
        the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega, Alabama failed to
        provide appropriate treatment for his dislocated shoulder. Specifi-
        cally, Magee alleged that the medical staff failed to arrange for
        physical therapy and follow-up care by an orthopedic specialist,
        causing him to suffer prolonged and unnecessary pain and re-
        stricted use of his shoulder. He asked the court to appoint a medi-
        cal expert to testify on his behalf regarding the standard of care for
        the treatment of his injury and the consequences of delaying care.
             The government responded to the complaint and moved for
        summary judgment. Attachments to the motion for summary
        judgment included Magee’s medical records and an affidavit by
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        21-13634               Opinion of the Court                        3

        Mark Holbrook, M.D., the Clinical Director at FCI Talladega. In
        his affidavit, Dr. Holbrook testified that he had reviewed Magee’s
        medical records and opined that Magee had “received evidence-
        based proven effective medical care and treatment in accordance
        with medical standards.” He opined that immediate follow-up
        with an orthopedist was not required because discharge instruc-
        tions from Magee’s emergency room visit instructed him to follow
        up with his primary care physician. He also testified that he did not
        prescribe physical therapy for Magee because his condition did not
        warrant it.
               The medical records submitted by Magee and the govern-
        ment show the following undisputed facts. On January 5, 2018,
        Magee reported to prison medical staff that a guard had dislocated
        Magee’s right shoulder when handcuffing him after an altercation
        in the prison yard. Dr. Holbrook examined him, confirmed the
        dislocation by x-ray, gave him pain medication, and sent Magee to
        the emergency room at a local hospital for treatment.
               At the hospital, emergency room physician Robert Ruth,
        M.D., performed a closed reduction of Magee’s shoulder joint and
        placed his arm in a shoulder immobilizer. Dr. Ruth gave Magee
        discharge instructions to return to the emergency room or follow
        up with his primary care physician if he was feeling worse or expe-
        riencing new symptoms, and to follow up with an orthopedist and
        keep the shoulder immobilizer in place until that follow-up visit.
        The discharge instructions listed Dr. Holbrook as the follow-up
        physician. Dr. Ruth also gave Magee preprinted discharge
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        4                       Opinion of the Court                  21-13634

        instructions describing the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treat-
        ment of shoulder dislocation and advising him on the use of the
        shoulder immobilizer. The preprinted instructions explained that
        a “shoulder dislocation is treated by placing the humerus back in
        the joint (reduction).” It also stated that after reduction, the patient
        should wear the shoulder immobilizer for up to three weeks, after
        which “your caregiver may prescribe physical therapy to help im-
        prove the range of motion in your shoulder joint.” The instruc-
        tions advised Magee not to use his arm out of the immobilizer
        without doctor approval and to always wear the immobilizer at
        night.
                Later that night, Magee removed his shoulder immobilizer
        and re-injured his shoulder by rolling over on it in bed. Prison med-
        ical staff sent him back to the hospital, where he was treated by
        Jorge Blanco, M.D. Dr. Blanco gave Magee another copy of the
        preprinted instructions for treatment of his shoulder dislocation
        and use of the shoulder immobilizer and instructed him to follow
        up with his primary care physician in two days.
               Magee was again examined by a nurse on his return to the
        prison. He reported shoulder pain and was advised to keep his arm
        in the shoulder immobilizer until his follow-up with orthopedics
        and report to sick call as needed.
              On January 17, 2018, Magee complained of shoulder pain to
        a nurse making rounds in his housing unit. The nurse noted that
        he “continue[d] to not follow medical instructions to not use right
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        21-13634               Opinion of the Court                        5

        shoulder. Keep arm in immobilizer sling and to not lift anything.”
        The nurse contacted Dr. Holbrook, who prescribed ibuprofen.
                Two days later, Magee again complained of shoulder pain to
        a nurse making rounds in his housing unit and requested physical
        therapy. He also reported several other issues, including vision
        problems. The nurse informed him that only one medical com-
        plaint could be addressed at a time, and Magee elected to discuss
        his vision. In early February, medical staff renewed Magee’s pre-
        scription for ibuprofen to treat his shoulder pain.
               Over the next several months, Magee was seen by medical
        staff on six separate occasions for various concerns, but he did not
        report any problems with his shoulder. During his annual chronic
        care visit in January 2019, he reported having shoulder pain “at
        times.”
               Several months after that, on September 16, 2019, Magee re-
        ported having periodic shoulder pain for several months. He de-
        scribed the pain as a level 3 out of 10 and said that it was relieved
        with pain medication. The nurse practitioner referred him to the
        commissary for ibuprofen. She also ordered a shoulder x-ray,
        which was not completed (for reasons that are disputed).
               On November 21, 2019, Magee reported to sick call com-
        plaining of worsening right shoulder pain. He said that he thought
        his shoulder had “popped out of place” the night before, and he
        rated his pain as a 9 out of 10. The nurse practitioner prescribed
        pain medication and a shoulder x-ray. Dr. Holbrook reviewed the
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        6                      Opinion of the Court                21-13634

        x-ray, which showed no dislocation, and gave Magee a routine re-
        ferral to an orthopedist.
               Almost three months later, in February 2020, Magee visited
        an outside orthopedist. The orthopedist examined Magee’s shoul-
        der and found limited range of motion, mild weakness, and notable
        crepitus. He recommended an MRI and follow-up after the MRI
        was obtained. Dr. Holbrook ordered an MRI, with a target date of
        May 29, 2020.
               On January 1, 2021, Magee submitted a sick-call request
        complaining of severe, unbearable pain in his shoulder. He was
        seen three days later in his housing unit by a nurse practitioner,
        who noted his complaints of shoulder pain (rated as 6 out of 10) for
        the past month. The nurse practitioner prescribed ibuprofen and
        ordered an x-ray. A prison physician noted “abnormal findings” on
        the shoulder x-ray and that an MRI might be indicated. Magee was
        again advised to purchase ibuprofen at the prison commissary until
        the MRI could be completed. According to Dr. Holbrook, the MRI
        was not obtained while Magee was housed at FCI Talladega be-
        cause of prison transport restrictions related to COVID-19.
               In a supplemental filing, Magee informed the court that he
        had been transferred from Talladega to the federal prison in
        Bastrop, Texas on January 31, 2021. Magee stated that the Clinical
        Director at Bastrop had physically examined him and ordered x-
        rays, which Magee said was “the same treatment the Defendant(s)
        (F.C.I. Talladega) denied Magee from Jan. 5, 2018 thru [sic] Jan. 31,
        2021.” According to Magee, the physician at Bastrop had
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        21-13634              Opinion of the Court                       7

        subsequently ordered an MRI, which had been completed on Au-
        gust 31, 2021.
                After reviewing Magee’s medical records and the parties’
        briefing, the district court denied Magee’s motion for the appoint-
        ment of an expert and granted summary judgment in favor of the
        United States. The court explained that Magee had not made a suf-
        ficient showing of negligence by the Talladega prison medical staff
        to warrant the appointment of an expert. The court pointed out
        that although the physician who initially treated Magee in the
        emergency room instructed him to follow up with an orthopedist,
        Magee had immediately reinjured his shoulder and received new
        instructions to follow up with his primary care physician after his
        second visit to the emergency room. The court also explained that
        Magee’s medical records belied his complaint that Talladega med-
        ical staff had not provided physical examination and x-rays, show-
        ing that he was evaluated and usually provided with medication
        whenever he reported shoulder pain. The court noted that Magee
        was referred to an orthopedist when he reported worsening pain,
        and it declined to “second-guess” the scheduling decisions that de-
        layed his MRI in light of the multiple challenges to prison admin-
        istration posed by COVID-19. The court concluded that because
        Magee’s medical records demonstrated that prison medical staff
        had not breached the standard of care, the United States was enti-
        tled to summary judgment. This appeal followed.
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        8                      Opinion of the Court                  21-13634

                                          II.
                We review the district court’s denial of a request for appoint-
        ment of an expert for abuse of discretion. Bass v. Perrin, 170 F.3d
        1312, 1319 (11th Cir. 1999). Under this standard, we will affirm the
        district court’s decision “unless we find that the district court has
        made a clear error of judgment, or has applied the wrong legal
        standard.” Ameritas Variable Life Ins. Co. v. Roach, 411 F.3d 1328,
        1330 (11th Cir. 2005).
               We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment
        de novo. Swafford v. United States, 839 F.3d 1365, 1369 (11th Cir.
        2016). Summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows
        that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the mo-
        vant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
        56(a).
                                         III.
               The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) waives the sovereign
        immunity of the United States for personal injury claims arising
        from the negligence of government employees acting within the
        scope of their employment if a private person would be liable to
        the claimant under “the law of the place where the act or omission
        occurred.” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1). Thus, because the medical neg-
        ligence alleged here occurred in Alabama, Alabama provides the
        substantive law applicable to Magee’s FTCA claim. See id.; Stone v.
        United States, 373 F.3d 1129, 1130 (11th Cir. 2004).
               To establish liability for medical malpractice in Alabama, the
        plaintiff must prove (1) the appropriate standard of care, (2) a
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        21-13634                Opinion of the Court                          9

        deviation from that standard, and (3) a proximate causal connec-
        tion between the deviation and the plaintiff’s injury. Hauseman v.
        Univ. of Ala. Health Servs. Found., 793 So. 2d 730, 734 (Ala. 2000). In
        most medical-malpractice cases, a plaintiff must prove his case
        through testimony by a “similarly situated” medical expert. Id.; see
        Univ. of Ala. Health Servs. Found. v. Bush, 638 So. 2d 794, 802 (Ala.
        1994).
               Here, Magee acknowledges that he did not present expert
        testimony in support of his claim, and that he could not prove med-
        ical negligence under Alabama law without such testimony. He
        argues that the district court should have granted his motion to ap-
        point an expert under Rule 706 of the Federal Rules of Evidence
        because as an indigent prisoner, he lacked the means to obtain an
        expert on his own.
               Rule 706 gives district courts the discretionary authority to
        appoint experts. Fed. R. Evid. 706(a). In civil cases, the experts are
        to be compensated “by the parties in the proportion and at the time
        that the court directs,” and the compensation is later charged as
        costs. Fed. R. Evid. 706(c). “Where a party requests the appoint-
        ment of an expert to aid in evaluating evidence that is relevant to a
        central issue in the case, the court is obligated to fairly consider the
        request and to provide a reasoned explanation for its ultimate deci-
        sion on the matter.” Quiet Tech. DC-8, Inc. v. Hurel-Dubois UK Ltd.,
        326 F.3d 1333, 1348 (11th Cir. 2003). But the court generally is un-
        der no affirmative obligation to grant the party’s request. Id.
        “Quite the contrary, as long as the district court thoroughly
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        10                     Opinion of the Court                21-13634

        considers a request for the appointment of such an expert and rea-
        sonably explains its ultimate decision thereon, that decision is
        vested in the sound discretion of the trial court.” Id. at 1348–49.
                The district court here gave due consideration to Magee’s
        motion and provided a reasoned explanation for its decision. It ex-
        plained that it had reviewed Magee’s medical records, which were
        readily comprehensible to a layperson, and determined that they
        did not support his allegations that prison medical staff failed to
        provide necessary and appropriate care for his shoulder injury. The
        court thus concluded that the assistance of a court-appointed ex-
        pert was not warranted. Under the circumstances, we cannot say
        that this decision was a clear error in judgment. See Ameritas Vari-
        able Life Ins. Co., 411 F.3d at 1330.
                And as we have explained, the lack of expert support was
        fatal to Magee’s medical malpractice claim. Under Alabama law,
        expert testimony is ordinarily required to prove a violation of the
        applicable standard of care as well as causation. See Cobb v. Fisher,
        20 So. 3d 1253, 1257 (Ala. 2009); Bush, 638 So. 2d at 802. Summary
        judgment is warranted “against a party who fails to make a show-
        ing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to
        that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of
        proof at trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986).
                                        IV.
              The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying
        Magee’s motion for the appointment of an expert witness. And
        because Magee could not prove essential elements of his medical
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        21-13634             Opinion of the Court                     11

        negligence claim without expert testimony, the district court did
        not err in granting the government’s motion for summary judg-
        ment. We therefore affirm.
              AFFIRMED.