James D. Green v. Dr. Sara English

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted Dr. Sara English’s motion for summary judgment in James D. Green’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging deliberate indifference to serious wrist pain. The court held that, although a jury could find an objectively serious medical condition, the evidence did not support deliberate indifference because Dr. English responded to the requests she received, ordered diagnostic testing, recommended treatment, and lacked notice of later complaints.

Holdings

1. Although the record could support a finding that Green suffered from an objectively serious medical condition, no reasonable jury could find that Dr. English was deliberately indifferent to that condition. English promptly responded to the requests she received, ordered diagnostic testing, recommended treatment, and sought additional information from Green.
2. A prisoner's disagreement with a doctor's chosen course of treatment, without more, does not establish deliberate indifference under the Eighth Amendment.
3. English could not be deliberately indifferent to later complaints of pain that she did not receive or know about, and she was not personally responsible for the nurses' responses to those requests.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the summary-judgment record established a genuine dispute that Dr. English was deliberately indifferent to Green's objectively serious wrist-pain condition in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
2. Whether Green's disagreement with English's treatment choices, including her recommendation that he use anti-inflammatory medication, was sufficient to establish an Eighth Amendment violation.
3. Whether English could be liable for later health-services requests that were not routed to her and to which nurses responded.

Disposition

dismissed