Court Opinion

ID: 9478016
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 06:37:04.542545+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:46:10.314065
License: Public Domain

NOONAN, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
Facts are in dispute in this case. The facts are material. If they prove true as alleged by the appellant, they would support a finding in his favor on the crucial question of whether the defendants acted with “deliberate indifference” toward his “serious medical needs.” Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 97 S.Ct. 285, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976). The material disputed facts are three:
1. Did the defendants know or should they have known of the potential seriousness of Anthony’s injuries? The defendants, as the moving party, allege lack of knowledge on two grounds: Anthony’s injuries were internal and not readily apparent. And Anthony himself did not know the full extent of his injury until 1984, one and a half years after the accident. Anthony, however, alleges that the defendants were aware of external indicia of internal damage of a potentially and ultimately serious nature: He had lost consciousness, vomited blood, experienced dizziness, and had to miss work for bed rest. He had also experienced and complained of chest pains, concomitant breathing problems and an inability to lift weight. Further, the defend*744ants knew that Anthony was injured when a bulldozer pinned him against a trailer. Internal injuries with few external symptoms and potentially severe complications like blood clots or hemorrhages are precisely the kind of injury that common sense expects and fears from such an accident.
2. Did the defendants make sufficient medical attention available to Anthony? The defendants allege that a medical assistant visited Anthony two days after the accident and prescribed bed rest. They also allege that Anthony would have received medical attention — presumably more attention — “if he had requested it.” Anthony, on the other hand, contends that he requested hospital care immediately after the accident and that the medical assistant take x-rays. Disputed is whether he made these requests. Also disputed is whether more sophisticated diagnostic techniques or a doctor’s examination were called for, given that external indicia of potentially serious internal complications were manifest.
According to Anthony, he was denied any medical care for two days after the accident. The care he ultimately received was insufficient. Appropriate diagnostic techniques or doctor’s expertise were not employed. His medical needs were serious. Symptoms of potentially serious internal injuries were manifest. The indifference to his needs was deliberate. He had explicitly requested more, quicker, and better attention and complained of physical pain. If the disputed facts are as Anthony alleges, he will have shown deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs.
I would reverse.