Curtis v. DPSCS
| Decision Date | 14 June 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No.: GJH-20-1903 |
| Parties | ANTWAN HAYWOOD CURTIS, Plaintiff, v. DPSCS, WARDEN CASEY CAMPBELL, LT. BILAL AHMED, WEXFORD HEALTH SOURCE, INC. WARDEN RICHARD R. GRAHAM, JR. Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
Plaintiff Antwan Haywood Curtis brought this civil action against Defendants Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services ("DPSCS"), Warden Casey Campbell, Lieutenant Bilal Ahmed, Warden Richard R. Graham, Jr., and Wexford Health Source, Inc. ("Wexford"), alleging violations of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12132, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794. ECF No. 1; ECF No. 1-2. Pending before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment filed by Defendants DPSCS, Campbell, Ahmed, and Graham ("State Defendants"). ECF No. 12. No hearing is necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2018). For the reasons stated below, Defendants' Motion shall be granted, in part, and denied, in part. Additionally, the Court dismisses the Complaint as to Defendant Wexford pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915 for failure to state a claim.
Plaintiff is an inmate committed to the custody of the Maryland Division of Corrections and is currently confined to Western Correctional Institution ("WCI") in Cumberland, Maryland. ECF No. 1 at 1.1 Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, filed the Complaint at issue here in connection with two separate falls, one at Jessup Correctional Institution ("JCI") and the other at Roxbury Correctional Institution ("RCI"). Id. at 3-4. According to Plaintiff, Defendants' failure to provide Plaintiff with a cell that included the features necessary to accommodate his disability while housed at JCI and their failure to provide a ramp in the shower area at RCI caused Plaintiff's falls and his resulting injuries. See id.; ECF No. 1-2 at 2-3. At all times relevant to Plaintiff's allegations, Plaintiff used a wheelchair. ECF No. 1-2 at 1.
According to Defendants, Plaintiff was primarily housed in a single cell while at JCI but was moved to Administrative Segregation Pending Adjustment ("ASPA") on July 2, 2018, where he remained until September 13, 2018, when he was transferred to RCI. ECF No. 12-1 at 2-3; ECF No. 12-4 (traffic history). Plaintiff was moved to ASPA due to reports that he had been bullying other inmates while housed in JCI's F-building, C-tier, which is the designated housing area for handicapped inmates. ECF No. 12-5 at 1, 4-5 (Decl. Lt. Bilal Ahmed and Attachments). Defendant Ahmed investigated the reports and, based on the information he uncovered, recommended that Plaintiff be transferred to another facility for security reasons. Id. at 2.Defendant Ahmed also recommended that Plaintiff be moved to ASPA in the interim.2 Id. at 4. However, in his capacity as a Lieutenant with the Internal Investigation Division ("IID"), Defendant Ahmed does "not have any role in case management, classification, medical, or the housing of inmates" nor was he aware of any injuries Plaintiff sustained while at JCI. Id. at 2.
On August 6, 2018, while confined to his cell in ASPA, Plaintiff fell to the floor while attempting to "use the bathroom." ECF No. 1 at 3. As a result of the fall, Plaintiff injured his left pinky finger. Id. Plaintiff states that there was a medical order in place at that time requiring his confinement to a "single handicap cell[,]" but he was instead placed in a regular single cell, which "was not a qualified handicapped cell." Id. at 4. Plaintiff claims that Defendant Campbell knew of his medical requirements but did not ensure he was housed appropriately. Id. at 3-4.
Medical records generated while Plaintiff was at JCI indicate that he was seen for an unscheduled sick call visit on August 6, 2018, to address his claim that he fell and hurt his finger. ECF No. 12-6 at 2. The nursing comments indicate that Plaintiff's finger was "minimally swollen and painful with pain scale of 6/10[.]" Id. Plaintiff was provided with an ice pack and Motrin, and he was instructed to return the following morning for a possible x-ray of the finger. Id.
On August 13, 2018, a radiologist read the x-ray performed on August 7, 2018. ECF No. 12-6 at 13-14. The x-ray showed a "nondisplaced fracture across the shaft of the 5th metacarpal." Id. at 14. Plaintiff's finger was "immobilized with splint and ace wrap application." Id. at 13.
On August 22, 2018, Plaintiff filed an Administrative Remedy Procedure complaint ("ARP") regarding the August 6, 2018 fall at JCI. ECF No. 12-12 at 5. Plaintiff complained that this was the second time he had fallen in the cell he had occupied since July 2, 2018. Id. Plaintiff stated that he was "not suppose[d] to be in this cell . . . because it [doesn't] have any grab bars[,]" and he is an "inmate with disabilities" and is wheelchair bound. Id. at 7. He stated that he cannot walk without a walker and that federal law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. Id. Plaintiff alleged that his cell assignment violated the ADA, asked to be transferred to RCI, and sought an award of $200 per day for each day he was assigned to the cell. Id. Defendant Campbell dismissed the ARP because there was "no evidence to substantiate [Plaintiff's] claim that staff ha[d] violated any policy or procedures" and because Plaintiff failed to provide any documentation indicating he required grab bars inside his cell. Id. at 8.
Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of the ARP to the Commissioner of Correction, where it was again dismissed. ECF No. 12-12 at 2-3. The Commissioner's response noted that the "latest medical order indicated 'Single Cell for six months.'" Id. Plaintiff appealed the Commissioner's response to the Inmate Grievance Office ("IGO"), and the matter was referred to the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings. ECF No. 12-13 at 3-10. After a hearing on the complaint, the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") found that Plaintiff had failed to prove that the Division of Corrections "acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner or acted inconsistently with the law by not following applicable laws, regulations, policy or procedures" and therefore did not address Plaintiff's injuries or his claim for damages since Plaintiff failed to prove his claim. Id. at 10.
Plaintiff states that on September 13, 2018, Defendant Campbell transferred him from JCI to RCI, an allegedly non-handicap prison, ECF No. 1 at 4; ECF No. 14 at 2. Defendant Campbell, however, states that in his capacity as warden of both JCI and RCI "[i]t is beyond thescope of [his] job duties and responsibilities to assign housing or classify inmates into any housing unit." ECF No. 12-7 at 2. Defendant Campbell further states that he "was not involved in nor did [he] interfere with the housing unit assignments or in transferring" Plaintiff while he was at JCI or RCI. Id.
Plaintiff was medically assessed after his transfer to RCI and that assessment noted that Plaintiff was "[m]obility impaired" and used a wheelchair.3 ECF No. 12-6 at 81. The medical assessment gave Plaintiff a Karnofsky Score of 90%, id., meaning that he is "[r]estricted in physically strenuous activity but ambulatory and able to carry out work of a light or sedentary nature[.]" Performance Scales: Karnofsky & ECOG Scores, OncologyPro, https://oncologypro.esmo.org/oncology-in-practice/practice-tools/performance-scales; Karnofsky Performance Status Scale Definitions Rating (%) Criteria, National Palliative Care Research Center, http://www.npcrc.org/files/news/karnofsky_performance_scale.pdf ("Able to carry on normal activity[.]"); see also Karnofsky Performance Status, National Cancer Institute, https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/karnofsky-performance-status ( ).4 Plaintiff was provided with a walker and awheelchair and approved for a "Lower Bunk Only" assignment.5 ECF No. 12-6 at 80. The restrictions on Plaintiff's housing were "Temporary." Id.
On September 21, 2018, Plaintiff saw a chronic care doctor at RCI, Dr. Choudry, regarding Plaintiff's various medical issues, including his left-hand injury as well as his mobility issues. ECF No. 12-6 at 59. Dr. Choudry reviewed Plaintiff's neurology consult report and noted that there was no evidence of myopathy or neuropathy but there was a possibility Plaintiff had "mild radiculopathy of L4-L5[.]" Id. He further noted that Plaintiff had an ankle brace, and it was unclear why his ankle buckles. Id. Finally, Dr. Choudry noted that Plaintiff needed physical therapy. Id. A plan was made to allow Plaintiff's left hand to heal for 8-12 weeks and then repeat x-rays. Id. If his finger healed, Plaintiff would be switched to crutches because the wheelchair "will only make his muscles weaker and atrophy." Id.
On March 6, 2019, Plaintiff tripped on "the shower partition on the floor" while exiting the shower and states that he injured his ribs as a result. ECF No. 1 at 4. Plaintiff explains that he was unable to get into the shower area while in his wheelchair "due to the partition." Id. The day after his fall, Plaintiff was seen by Mary Ellen Bryan, RN for a headache and soreness from the fall. ECF No. 12-8 at 17. She noted that Plaintiff had no complaints of chest pain or respiratory distress and that he had no open wounds or lacerations. Id.
Plaintiff filed an ARP on March 19, 2019 regarding his March 6, 2019 fall. Id. at 2. Plaintiff stated that Officer Bible, who was working on the tier at the time, called medical for assistance after Plaintiff fell. Id. Plaintiff claimed that, since the fall, he had been in "constant pain on [his] left[ ]side...
To continue reading
Request your trial