Court Opinion

ID: 9384375
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-03 18:01:04.115785+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:52.721097
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-50099     Document: 00516698034         Page: 1     Date Filed: 04/03/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                                                     United States Court of Appeals
                                                                              Fifth Circuit

                                  No. 22-50099
                                                                            FILED
                                                                         April 3, 2023
                                Summary Calendar
                                                                       Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                            Clerk
   Dustin Wayne Nall,

                                                           Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                       versus

   Dr. Benjamin Yee; Katherine Rediske; Rebecca McDow;
   Valencia Pollard-Fortson; Step 2 Medical Grievance
   Program Office of Professional Standards Division,

                                                         Defendants—Appellees.

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                       for the Western District of Texas
                             USDC No. 6:21-CV-15

   Before Jones, Haynes, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
          Dustin Nall, a Texas prisoner, filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit to seek
   redress for alleged acts of deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.
   The district court dismissed his suit after granting the defendants’ motion

          *
            Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
   opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
   circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 22-50099      Document: 00516698034           Page: 2     Date Filed: 04/03/2023

                                     No. 22-50099

   for summary judgment. On appeal, Nall insists that defendants Dr. Benjamin
   Yee, Katherine Rediske, Rebecca McDow, and Valencia Pollard-Fortson
   acted with deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs and are not
   entitled to qualified immunity because they did not take certain actions with
   respect to his medical care. 1 We review the grant of a motion for summary
   judgment de novo. Xtreme Lashes, LLC v. Xtended Beauty, Inc., 576 F.3d 221,
   226 (5th Cir. 2009).
          First, Nall alleges that Dr. Yee “intentionally treated him incorrectly”
   and “ignored his complaints” because Dr. Yee prescribed medications he
   knew caused adverse side effects to Nall instead of Nall’s preferred
   medications. Disagreement with medical treatment or decisions whether to
   provide additional treatment does not constitute deliberate indifference.
   Gobert v. Caldwell, 463 F.3d 339, 345–46 (5th Cir. 2006). Medical records
   reveal that Dr. Yee did not prescribe Nall’s desired medications because of
   those medications’ high risk of abuse and misuse, not because of his
   indifference to Nall. And Nall presented no evidence showing Dr. Yee
   otherwise ignored his requests or intentionally treated him incorrectly.
   Nall’s medical records, in fact, show that Dr. Yee continuously provided
   mental health treatment to Nall for several years.
          Nall also alleges Rediske was deliberately indifferent to his medical
   needs because he continued to respond to sick calls and embarrassed Nall in
   front of correctional officers. Nall fails to create a material fact issue because
   caring for Nall’s medical needs, apparently against Nall’s wishes, cannot also
   be deliberate indifference. Furthermore, embarrassment, even if true, is not
   deliberate indifference.

          1
           On appeal, Nall does not challenge summary judgment for the Step 2 Medical
   Grievance Program Office of Professional Standards Division.

                                           2
Case: 22-50099      Document: 00516698034          Page: 3   Date Filed: 04/03/2023

                                    No. 22-50099

          Because Nall fails to allege Dr. Yee and Rediske violated a clearly
   established constitutional right, there is no alleged violation to attribute to
   McDow, the alleged supervisor, or Pollard-Fortson, who reviews prisoner
   grievances.
          For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is
   AFFIRMED.

                                         3