Burns v. Robertson Cnty.
| Decision Date | 13 June 2016 |
| Docket Number | NO. 3:13-cv-974,3:13-cv-974 |
| Citation | 192 F.Supp.3d 909 |
| Parties | Sherrie BURNS, Individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Matthew J. Burns, deceased, Plaintiff, v. ROBERTSON COUNTY, Tennessee, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee |
Max D. Fagan, Nashville, TN, William Kennerly Burger, Burger, Siskin, Scott & McFarlin, Murfreesboro, TN, for Plaintiff.
Jeffrey M. Beemer, Kelly M. Telfeyan, Dickinson Wright PLLC, Nashville, TN, for Defendants.
Matthew J. Burns committed suicide in the Robertson County Detention Facility (RCDF). His mother, Sherri Burns, brings this case individually and as the Administratrix of her son's estate alleging violations of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Specifically, Ms. Burns against Robertson County, Tennessee and others, alleging that RCDF's customs and policies regarding identification and treatment of detainees who are suicidal constitutes deliberate indifference to her son's serious mental health care needs to prevent his suicide. Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all claims. For the reasons that follow the Court finds disputed issues of material fact. Accordingly, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is DENIED .
Mr. Burns enjoyed a job and close relationships with his mother, sister, and infant son. In his late teens or early 20s, he was in an accident. This led to his dependency on pain medications, which affected his mood and behavior. (Doc. No. 44 at 2-3.) During the same period, Mr. Burns was forced to acknowledge that his father sexually molested him when he was a small child, and his relationship with his mother and sister deteriorated as a result. (Id. at 3.) His psychiatrist diagnosed him with severe depression and bipolar disorder
. (Id.) In the year before he committed suicide in the RCDF, he received treatment at both a mental health facility and a detoxification facility. (Id.) Approximately five months before his death, he was hospitalized for an overdose of medication, which his family members believed to be a deliberate suicide attempt, although Mr. Burns denied suicidal intent. (Id.) In the months before his suicide, Mr. Burns was taking the drug "Trileptal" for his bipolar disorder and "Neurontin" for the severe pain he experienced from his accident. (Id.) In the weeks before his arrest, Mr. Burns's conduct had become increasingly unusual, and his family was concerned for his well-being. (Id.) Mr. Burns's abnormal behavior culminated in his robbing a bank. (Id.)
On the day the FBI arrested Mr. Burns for the bank robbery, Major Tony Crawford, Jail Administrator at RCDF, received three telephone calls from individuals relaying concerns that Mr. Burns was at risk for committing suicide. (Doc. No. 43 at 2.) At the time he received these calls, Major Crawford was not yet aware of whether agents with the United States Marshals Service would transport Mr. Burns to RCDF or to one of the other facilities that house federal pre-trial detainees. (Id.) The first call was from someone Major Crawford believes was affiliated with either the Sumner County Sherriff's Department or the White House Police Department, and that individual told Major Crawford that Mr. Burns's family was very concerned about him. (Id. at 2.) The second call was from one of the agents transporting Mr. Burns, relaying the concerns of Mr. Burns's family. (Id. at 2-3.) Major Crawford received these two telephone calls before noon. (Id. at 3.) A third call came from Mr. Burns's federal public defender, who also relayed the family's concerns about Mr. Burns's mental health and risk of suicide.
After receiving the telephone calls, Major Crawford contacted Nurse Janie Russell, the medical team administrator, to relay the information from the telephone calls and to instruct her to ensure that Mr. Burns was screened immediately after being booked into the jail, rather than within the 24-hour time-frame typically employed for federal inmates. (Id.) Nurse Russell told Major Crawford that having Mr. Burns screened would not be a problem. (Id.) Major Crawford did not put anything in writing. When he left at 4:00 p.m. that day, Major Crawford was still unsure whether federal agents would bring Mr. Burns to the RCDF, but instructed the correctional officers at the booking desk to have medical staff screen all new federal detainees before they were assigned to a housing unit to ensure that Mr. Burns would be screened upon arrival. (Id. at 4.) The content of the telephone calls Major Crawford had received about concerns related to Mr. Burns's mental health issues or risk of suicide were never relayed to the licensed nurse practitioner (LPN), Elizabeth Chezem, who conducted Mr. Burns's medical screening later that night. (Id.) The Jail did not have a policy in place that provided that the information contained in telephone calls such as these were to be documented and transmitted to the LPN who conducted the medical screenings at the Jail during the night shift.
On the evening of September 14, 2012, Nurse Chezem, who worked the night shift, evaluated Mr. Burns. (Id. at 6.) Nurse Chezem is an employee of Southern Health Partners ("SHP"), a private company that contracts with RCDF to provide medical services to individuals detained at the Jail. (Id.) Nurse Chezem is a Licensed Practical Nurse ("LPN"), which required twelve months of study at a vocational school. (Doc. No. 40-2 at 5.) She was the only medical personnel at the Jail the night Mr. Burns arrived, although she had the ability to call a physician or "medical team administrator" with SHP by telephone if necessary. (Id. at 7.)
Nurse Chezem conducted a physical examination, administered a TB skin test, and reviewed the History and Physical screening form completed by Mr. Burns and the booking officer. (Doc. No. 42 at 6; 40-2 at 9-10.) She asked Mr. Burns if he had thoughts of suicide, and wrote on the form, based on his response, "no thoughts of suicide." (Doc. No. 45 at 69; 40-2 at 12.) The U.S. Marshals Service had previously completed another form that indicated Mr. Burns had a diagnosis of depression and bipolar disorder
, but Nurse Chezem denies having seen that form. (Doc. No. 40-2 at 14.) She was also never told about the three telephone calls Major Crawford had received about family members' concerns about Mr. Burns's mental health and risk of suicide. Following Nurse Chezem's physical examination, Mr. Burns was placed back in a holding cell and eventually assigned to a cell in the general population. (Doc. No. 43 at 7.) She placed the medical forms in Mr. Burns's chart and then into a file for the doctor to evaluate when he came in for his weekly rounds. Mr. Burns committed suicide two days later, before the doctor came in for his weekly visit. (Doc. No. 40-2 at 10, 12.) Nurse Chezem was the only medically-trained person who ever screened Mr. Burns for mental health issues. (Doc. No. 45 at 5-6.) Mr. Burns received no care for his mental health issues. RCDF did not administer any medications to him, either for his pain or for his bipolar disorder
.
Although Mr. Burns had indicated on the History and Physical form that he took Trileptal
and Neurontin, Nurse Chezem had no knowledge about the purpose of those medications, their side effects, or the risks of abruptly ending the medications. Nurse Chezem made no effort to obtain further information about the medications. (Doc. No. 40-2 at 15-17, 19; 45 at 6, 68-70.) Trileptal is routinely prescribed for various mental health disorders, including bipolar disorder, with which Mr. Burns had been diagnosed. These medications are both anti-seizure medications, and both are known to increase the risk of suicide. (Doc. No. 44 at 3; 45 at 66-67, 71-73.) Abrupt cessation of these medications also increase the risk of suicide. These risks can be readily verified in official and unofficial medical publications available on the internet. (Doc. No. 45 at 62-67, 71-73.) Because Nurse Chezem did not inquire about the purposes of the medications, did not receive information about the family members' concerns about Mr. Burns's mental health, and did not see the form that indicated that he was bipolar, the only basis for her determination that Mr. Burns posed no suicide risk was his own statement to her denying any history of suicide attempts or current suicidal ideation...
To continue reading
Request your trial