Lawrence Howard v. John Doe Medical Staff Member

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin screened Lawrence Howard’s amended 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint concerning an alleged delay and refusal of medical care while he was a pretrial detainee. The court allowed Howard to proceed on a Fourteenth Amendment claim against an unidentified medical staff member and added Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball solely to assist in identifying that defendant. The court required Howard to identify the Doe defendant within 60 days after Sheriff Ball’s attorney files an appearance and warned that failure to do so could result in dismissal.

Holdings

1. The amended complaint plausibly stated a Fourteenth Amendment claim against the John Doe medical staff member because the alleged purposeful delay and refusal to treat an emergent condition could constitute an objectively unreasonable response to a serious medical condition.
2. The amended complaint satisfied the screening-stage requirement of providing sufficient factual matter to state a plausible claim for relief.
3. Sheriff Ball was properly added as a defendant for the limited purpose of helping Howard identify the John Doe medical staff member, but she was not required to answer the amended complaint and was subject only to discovery relevant to identifying the Doe defendant.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the amended complaint plausibly alleged a Fourteenth Amendment claim against the John Doe medical staff member for delaying and refusing medical treatment for a pretrial detainee's chest pain and difficulty breathing.
2. Whether Sheriff Denita Ball could be added for the limited purpose of helping Howard identify the John Doe defendant through restricted discovery.
3. What deadline and procedural mechanism should govern Howard's identification and substitution of the John Doe defendant.

Disposition

other