Anthony v. United States
| Decision Date | 26 April 2022 |
| Docket Number | 3:19-cv-5337-BJR |
| Parties | Kevin D. Anthony, Plaintiff v. United State of America, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Washington |
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
This matter came for trial on December 1, 2021 and December 3 2021, before the Honorable Barbara J. Rothstein, United States District Judge, sitting without a jury. The Court having considered the evidence before it, including the testimony of witnesses and the documents and exhibits that were admitted by the Court, having heard argument of counsel and having reviewed the facts and records of this action, makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.
This matter arises out of an assault that occurred on November 5, 2015 in Tillicum, Washington, near Joint Base Lewis-McChord (“JBLM”). United States Army Ranger Specialist Jesse M. Suhanec overdosed on her[1] prescribed Adderall, took a loaded weapon from the base's armory, drove an Army vehicle off the base, and shot Plaintiff Kevin D. Anthony, a civilian. Plaintiff survived the assault but was severely injured.
In April 2019, Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that Defendant United States was negligent in recruiting Suhanec, failed to properly evaluate and medically diagnose her, failed to monitor and report her behavior, failed to properly train her, and failed to prevent her from obtaining the weapon she used to injure Plaintiff. Dkt. 1. Prior to trial, Defendant twice moved the Court to dismiss or grant summary judgment on all of Plaintiff's claims. In November 2020 and September 2021, the Court issued orders that considerably narrowed Plaintiff's claims, such that only the negligent recruitment claim remained for trial. See Dkts. 64, 91.
The factual basis of the negligent hiring claim is Plaintiff's allegation that Defendant was aware of a disqualifying condition-self-inflicted scars on Suhanec's arm-that could have foreseeably led to Plaintiff's injuries, but nevertheless allowed Suhanec to join the Army despite explicit rules disallowing the same. Dkt. 91. Plaintiff alleges Suhanec showed her scars to an Army recruiter, the recruiter knew the scars were signs of self-mutilation, and the recruiter advised Suhanec to lie on forms and to Army medical staff about the cause of the scars. Although there were additional steps in the enlistment process-such as medical evaluations that also considered Suhanec's scars-Plaintiff's negligence claim at trial was based only on Suhanec's interaction with the Army recruiter. See Dkt. 106 at 3.
I Jesse Suhanec's Pre-Enlistment History.
1. Suhanec testified at trial, and based on her testimony the Court finds as follows:
2. Suhanec had a childhood diagnosis of ADHD. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 34:1-3.
3. Suhanec took Ritalin, Focalin, and Adderall as a child and a teenager. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 34:11-19.
4. Suhanec never experienced paranoia, hallucinations, or psychosis when taking her prescribed medications as a child and teenager. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 76:21-77:3.
5. Suhanec never abused her medications. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 16:4-5.
6. Suhanec was diagnosed with depression as a teenager after having suicidal ideation and was hospitalized at a facility for young adults to receive mental health treatment for eleven days. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 34:21-35:11.
7. Suhanec self-cut, leaving scars on her left forearm three times over a period of a couple of months when she was a teenager. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 35:18-23.
8. Suhanec's self-cutting was not a persistent, serious condition. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 29:23-30:5.
9. Aside from one fight that resulted in a suspension from school, Suhanec had no adolescent history of violence and never thought about hurting other people. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 20:13-14; 77:4-6.
10. Suhanec intentionally stopped taking medications before she began her military enlistment process because she assumed those medications would disqualify her. Suhanec was generally aware of what could and could not disqualify her from joining the military, because she heard about it through a community of other recruits trying to enlist in the military. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 68:18-69:16. II. Army Enlistment Procedures and Regulations Regarding Medical Qualifications
11. Plaintiff argues that the Court must find Defendant acted negligently in recruiting Suhanec because the Army itself has regulations recognizing certain medical conditions-and physical or behavioral signs of those conditions-as disqualifying. Therefore, the Court will briefly discuss the regulations most relevant to this case.
12. The Army's medical fitness standards are contained in Army Regulation (“AR”) 40-501 (“Standard of Medical Fitness, ” dated August 4, 2011). AR 40-501 is the only governing regulation regarding medical fitness. See Exhibit P3, chapter 2, section 2-1, pg. 12.
13. AR 601-210 (“Active and Reserve Components Enlistment Program, ” dated February 8, 2011) governs eligibility criteria, policies, and procedures for enlistment and processing of persons into the Army. Section 2-9 requires applicants to meet the medical standards of AR 40-501, chapter 2. See Exhibit P4.
14. AR 40-501, chapter 2, section 2-27j provides that “History of suicidal behavior, including gesture(s) or attempt(s) (300.9), or history of self-mutilation, does not meet the standard” for enlistment. See Exhibit P3, Chapter 2, Section 2-27j, pg. 25.
15. Army recruiters screen recruits for a current diagnosis or verified history of a disqualifying condition, but they are not empowered to decide whether a recruit has a condition if there is no record of one. At most, a recruiter can flag concerning statements made by the recruit during a prescreening interview or reported on the “Medical Prescreen of Medical History Report” (the “Medical Prescreen Report”). The Medical Prescreen Report is the only medical document that is reviewed and signed by recruiters, and it does not ask questions about self-cutting or other self-injury. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 92:22-93:14; 93:24-94:13; 101:6-12; Exhibit J2; Exhibit J7.
16. Once a recruit submits the Medical Prescreen Report, they complete an in-person physical and medical examination conducted by the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command (“USMEPCOM”) at the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Station (“MEPS”) MEPS. Recruiters have no further control over determinations regarding medical disqualifications. Medical assessments and diagnoses are made by medical professionals at USMEPCOM, U.S. Army Recruiting Command (“USAREC”), or by outside professionals at the MEPS stage, during which recruits are asked about deliberate self-cutting. See 12/1/31 Trial Tr., 79:18-80:4.
III. Suhanec's Enlistment
17. On February 16, 2011, Suhanec met with Master Sergeant Daniel Hollis at a recruiting station and completed a Medical Prescreen Report. Hollis was Suhanec's primary recruiter. Suhanec falsely denied any history of psychiatric diagnoses or treatment on the Report, including her hospitalization for depression and prior behavioral medications. See Exhibit J2; 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 38:3-39:12; 61:3-62:4; 62:16-21.
18. Suhanec claimed she remembered being coached by one or more Army recruiters to lie about her medical conditions and/or history but could not remember exactly what the coaching was. Suhanec did not claim that it was Hollis who coached her. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 43:14-44:1.
19. Suhanec claimed she showed Hollis the scars on her left forearm, but she cannot remember when she showed him the scars or what prompted her to do so. Suhanec testified that she told Hollis the scars were from a skateboarding accident, but that Hollis recognized this as a lie and said According to Suhanec, this statement implied that Suhanec needed to come up with a better story to tell medical examiners at MEPS. See 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 61:3-62:4; 62:16-21; 65:1-9.
20. Following her meeting with Hollis, Suhanec submitted the Medical Prescreen Report and certified under oath that the information on the form was true and complete. At trial, Suhanec admitted that the information she provided was false. See Exhibit J2; 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 38:3-39:12.
21. On July 12, 2011, Suhanec completed her required in-person physical and medical examination with USMEPCOM at MEPS. See Exhibit J9; 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 41:10-15.
22. During her MEPS exam, Suhanec filled out a Medical History Provider Interview. Suhanec denied her history of depression (Questions 6a and 6c). She denied her history of deliberate cutting or self-injury (Question 6e). She denied her school suspension (Question 6h). She denied her history of suicidal ideation (Question 6f). Suhanec certified under oath that the information on the form was true and complete. At trial, Suhanec admitted these answers were untruthful. See Exhibit J7; 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 41:16-43:9, 44:5-14.
23. Also during her MEPS exam on July 12, 2011, Suhanec filled out a Report of Medical History. Suhanec denied any sort of anxiety or panic attacks (Question 17a). She denied depression or excessive worry (Question 17f). She denied receiving counseling of any type (Question 17e). She denied prior evaluation or treatment for mental conditions (Question 17g). She denied that she had ever consulted or been treated by clinics, physicians, healers, or other practitioners within the past 5 years (Question 24). Suhanec certified under oath that the information on the form was true and complete. At trial, Suhanec admitted these answers were untruthful. See Exhibit J8; 12/3/21 Trial Tr., 45:22-48:24.
24. The USMEPCOM doctor observed the...
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