Miller v. Calhoun County, 03-2434.

• Decision Date: 27 May 2005
• Docket Number: No. 03-2434.,03-2434.
• Parties: Rossie Marie MILLER, Personal Representative of the Estate of John King Lindsay Stanford, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CALHOUN COUNTY; Sheriff Allen L. Byam; Captain Terry Cook; Sergeant Michelle Lindsay; Deputy Melinda Osteen; Deputy Lapham; Deputy Jeffrey S. Holley; Deputy Holly Thomas; Sergeant Marcia Leavell; Deputy Everett; Dr. Mehmet B. Ismailoglu, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 803

408 F.3d 803

Rossie Marie MILLER, Personal Representative of the Estate of John King Lindsay Stanford, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CALHOUN COUNTY; Sheriff Allen L. Byam; Captain Terry Cook; Sergeant Michelle Lindsay; Deputy Melinda Osteen; Deputy Lapham; Deputy Jeffrey S. Holley; Deputy Holly Thomas; Sergeant Marcia Leavell; Deputy Everett; Dr. Mehmet B. Ismailoglu, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 03-2434.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: April 19, 2005.

Decided and Filed: May 27, 2005.

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ARGUED: Mark R. Bendure, Bendure & Thomas, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. Joseph Nimako, Cummings, Mcclorey, Davis & Acho, Livonia, Michigan, Randy J. Hackney, Hackney, Grover, Hoover & Bean, East Lansing, Michigan, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Mark R. Bendure, Bendure & Thomas, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. Joseph Nimako, Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, Livonia, Michigan, Randy J. Hackney, Loretta B. Subhi, Hackney, Grover, Hoover & Bean, East Lansing, Michigan, for Appellees.

Before: SUHRHEINRICH and GILMAN, Circuit Judges; and ACKERMAN, District Judge.^*

OPINION

ACKERMAN, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Rossie Marie Miller, appeals from two orders of the District Court granting summary judgment in favor of all of the defendants in this wrongful death action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and denying Miller's motion for leave to amend the Complaint. Miller initiated the action after her brother, John King Lindsay Stanford, died of a brain tumor on April 26, 1998 while in pretrial custody at the Calhoun County Correctional Facility (the "Correctional Facility") in Calhoun County, Michigan (the "County"). The Complaint alleges that the County's policies governing the provision of medical care to inmates and the training of Correctional Facility staff were deliberately indifferent and grossly negligent with respect to the serious medical needs of inmates, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Complaint further alleges that numerous individual corrections officer defendants had been deliberately indifferent to Stanford's serious medical condition in the days and hours leading up to his death. Finally, the Complaint alleges that the Correctional Facility's on-call physician, Dr. Mehmet Ismailoglu, had been deliberately indifferent and grossly negligent with respect to Stanford's medical condition. The District Court concluded that Miller failed to demonstrate that any of the defendants were deliberately indifferent to Stanford's medical condition in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights. In addition, the District Court denied Miller's motion for leave to amend the Complaint to allege that Dr. Ismailoglu was a policymaker for purposes of municipal liability under Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 106 S.Ct. 1292, 89 L.Ed.2d 452 (1986). For the reasons discussed below, we AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

At 1:02 a.m. on Friday, April 24, 1998, John King Lindsay Stanford, then 44 years old, was booked into the Correctional Facility in Battle Creek, Michigan and placed in pretrial detention on charges of auto theft. As part of the booking procedure, Stanford was asked a number of questions regarding his medical history. In response to one such question, Stanford indicated that he had sustained a head injury approximately one month earlier. He did not disclose any further details of his injury, however, except to report that his injury was not causing him any problems at that time. The booking officer recorded this information in Stanford's file.

Stanford was assigned to share a cell with inmate Michael Owen. Owen later reported that shortly before 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 24, Stanford complained of a headache to a guard and requested aspirin. Owen further reported that sometime in the afternoon of Saturday, April 25, Stanford again complained of a headache to a guard, and again requested aspirin. According to Owen, Stanford made a third request for aspirin around 7:00 p.m. on Saturday evening.

At approximately 11:50 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, Stanford approached two corrections officers—Deputies Osteen and Lapham—and again requested pain medication for a headache behind his eye. Osteen left to obtain the necessary approval from Sergeant Lindsay, the shift commander, and returned at about ten minutes past midnight with two Motrin tablets.

At approximately 12:30 a.m. on April 26, Lapham appeared at Stanford's cell in response to pounding on the door by Owen. Owen later stated that he had been pounding for at least several minutes before the deputy arrived. When Lapham entered the cell, he observed Stanford lying face-up on the floor of the cell in a puddle of water. Although Stanford was awake, he did not appear to be aware of Lapham's presence, and did not respond to the deputy's verbal inquiries. Lapham immediately radioed Lindsay to report a medical situation. While they were waiting for help to arrive, Owen advised Lapham that Stanford had fallen out of bed three times in short succession.

Within a brief time, Lindsay arrived at the cell, along with Deputies Osteen, Everett, and Taylor. Lindsay observed water on the floor and noted that the front of Stanford's pants was wet. Upon questioning, Owen advised the sergeant that Stanford had dropped a cup of water when he fell. Lindsay then asked Stanford whether he had hit his head when he fell, to which Stanford, now responsive, stated that he had not. In the meantime, Lapham left the cell to retrieve Stanford's medical profile, and reported back to Lindsay that Stanford had sustained a recent head injury. Stanford advised the officers that he had been in pain since the early evening of April 25. He complained of severe pain in his eyeballs. When Lindsay asked whether Stanford had suffered any head injuries, Stanford replied that he had, "about a year and a half ago." Joint Appendix ("J.A.") at 284. Lindsay checked Stanford's pulse at this time and found it to be strong and steady.

The officers placed Stanford in a wheelchair and transported him to the prisoner intake area ("Intake") for observation. Lindsay, Lapham, and Taylor accompanied Stanford. Lapham reported that on "numerous occasions" along the way, the officers had to stop and "sit inmate Stanford back up in the chair" because "he kept sliding out." J.A. at 283. Lindsay later opined that this was "probably not uncommon" because the wheelchair was an older model lacking footrests. J.A. at 625 (Lindsay Dep. at 10:25-11:3). During one of these stops, Lindsay inquired whether Stanford could see her, and Stanford responded, "You look like Mickey to me," J.A. at 284, an apparent reference to Lindsay's nickname. Lindsay then asked whether Stanford could see her clearly or whether she was blurry, to which Stanford replied that he could see her "ok." J.A. at 284. Lindsay also asked Stanford whether he was under the influence of any street drugs and whether he had a history of diabetes; Stanford responded to both questions in the negative. Taylor reported that during this period, Stanford appeared "coherent to some degree" but "very disoriented." J.A. at 287.

Upon arrival at Intake, the deputies assisted Stanford in changing into dry clothing. Meanwhile, Lindsay accessed Stanford's computer file and phoned Dr. Mehmet Ismailoglu, the on-call physician for the Correctional Facility. Lindsay advised the doctor that Stanford had fallen, was initially unresponsive to questioning, but had later spoken responsively and coherently to her. In addition, Lindsay told the doctor that Stanford's pupils were equally dilated, and that he had earlier complained of a headache behind his right eye. Lindsay also informed the doctor that Stanford had reported sustaining a head injury in the past, although she later could not recall whether she told the doctor that the injury occurred a month or a year and a half earlier.

Dr. Ismailoglu advised Lindsay that medical staff would see Stanford in the morning. Lindsay suggested that the Intake staff monitor Stanford on a half-hourly basis, and Dr. Ismailoglu agreed. Dr. Ismailoglu later testified that "there was not anything striking about the call I got from the jail. There was no urgency in the message that I got. There was nothing there to alert me that I should either respond physically or call for—have them call for 911 to have this individual transported." J.A. at 666 (Ismailoglu Dep. at 28:7-13). The record reflects that Lindsay's phone call to Dr. Ismailoglu lasted 1.9 minutes. J.A. at 55, 201, 667 (Ismailoglu Dep. at 29:19); Ismailoglu's Br. at 8. At deposition, Dr. Ismailoglu could not specifically recall having been told that Stanford had reported a recent head injury, that he was initially unresponsive, or that he was unable to remain seated in the wheelchair while en route to Intake.

Intake staff initiated a thirty-minute log shortly before 1:00 a.m. on April 26 and made observations of Stanford roughly every half hour for the next seven hours. The stated reason for initiating the log was "possible seizure." J.A. at 288. Stanford's cell was equipped with a mattress, which was placed directly on the floor. For most of the night, Intake staff observed Stanford "rolling around on floor." J.A. at 288-89, 290. Nevertheless, the record reflects that when officers spoke to Stanford, they found him to be responsive and coherent. J.A. at 291, 741. At approximately 1:30 a.m., Stanford requested a Snickers bar, stating that he thought his blood sugar was low and that this might be causing his headache. The Intake staff administered a blood sugar test and confirmed a normal reading. Three hours later, Stanford was observed masturbating. The entry for 7:30 a.m. shows that Stanford was "[m]oving, appears o.k." J.A. at 289. Likewise, the entry for 8:00 a.m. reflects that Stanford was "[l]ying in the bed area, appears o.k." J.A. at 289. The...