Quenton Thompson v. Hannah Utter, Alana Acker, Laura Sukowaty, Bonnie Alt, Denise Valerius, Jaime Adams, Sheryl Kinyon, and James Murphy

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin grants summary judgment to the defendants in Quenton Thompson’s Eighth Amendment claims concerning prison medical care before and after back surgery. The court holds that claims concerning 2019 treatment are time-barred, and that the remaining evidence does not show conscious disregard of serious medical needs by the defendants. The court also denies Thompson’s motions to compel discovery and recruit counsel and dismisses the case.

Holdings

1. Thompson's Eighth Amendment claims against Adams and Kinyon based on treatment at WSPF in 2019 were barred by Wisconsin's three-year statute of limitations because he filed the original complaint in June 2023.
2. Thompson failed to produce evidence creating a genuine dispute that Murphy canceled or converted a neurosurgery consultation into a pain-injection appointment; speculation about Murphy's alleged interference was insufficient to defeat summary judgment.
3. Alt did not consciously disregard Thompson's medical needs by referring him to an advanced care provider in June 2022 or by directing him to an imminent post-surgical follow-up in September 2022.
4. Sukowaty did not violate the Eighth Amendment by canceling the neurology appointment after Thompson's intervening surgery, rescinding the heel-lift order after a replacement lift had been provided, or allegedly stating that she would not treat Thompson in segregation.
5. Valerius, Utter, and Acker did not consciously disregard Thompson's serious medical needs by failing to provide the particular heel lift or New Balance shoes recommended by an outside podiatrist.
6. To prevail on an Eighth Amendment medical-care claim, a prisoner must show a serious medical need and that the defendant consciously disregarded an excessive risk to the prisoner's health or safety; negligence, gross negligence, ordinary malpractice, and inadvertent error are insufficient.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Thompson's 2019 Eighth Amendment medical-care claims against Adams and Kinyon were barred by the applicable three-year statute of limitations.
2. Whether the evidence showed that Murphy consciously disregarded Thompson's serious medical needs by changing or interfering with a neurosurgery referral.
3. Whether Alt consciously disregarded Thompson's medical needs by referring him to an advanced care provider in June 2022 and by responding to his September 2022 request with reference to an upcoming surgical follow-up.
4. Whether Sukowaty consciously disregarded Thompson's medical needs by canceling orthotic, podiatry, or neurology-related appointments or by allegedly refusing to treat him while he was in segregation.
5. Whether Valerius, Utter, or Acker violated the Eighth Amendment by failing to provide a podiatrist-recommended heel lift or particular New Balance athletic shoes.
6. Whether defendants were entitled to summary judgment on the remaining Eighth Amendment claims.

Disposition

dismissed