Davis v. Marceno
| Decision Date | 18 April 2022 |
| Docket Number | 2:19-cv-750-JLB-MRM |
| Parties | TONYA DAVIS, as personal representative of the Estate of Jewronvis Davis, Plaintiff, v. CARMINE MARCENO, in his official capacity as Sheriff of Lee County, Florida, MAZIR TIBAI, individually, SAMANTHA HUTTO, individually, and DIANE E. CINCOTTI, individually, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida |
Jewronvis Davis tragically passed away following his detention in the Lee County Jail, a facility where medical services were provided by Armor Correctional Health (“Armor”). Plaintiff Tonya Davis, as personal representative of Mr Davis's estate (“the Estate”), now sues Defendant Carmine Marceno in his official capacity as Sheriff of Lee County, and Defendants Diane Cincotti, RN, Deputy Mazir Tibai, and Deputy Samantha Hutto in their individual capacities. The Estate brings claims asserting violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on deliberate indifference to Mr Davis's medical needs and negligence under Florida law. Defendants have moved for summary judgment (Doc. 82), and the Estate has responded in opposition (Doc. 91). After careful review of the pleadings, exhibits, and the entire record before the Court, the Court grants summary judgment in favor of Defendants.
BACKGROUND[1]
On October 5, 2017, Mr. Davis was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff's Office (“LCSO”) and was booked into custody at the Lee County Jail. (Doc. 50 at 3, ¶ 16.) Mr. Davis was a double amputee, required the use of a wheelchair to ambulate, and suffered from end stage kidney disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. (Id. at 3, ¶¶ 18-19.) Because of his end stage kidney disease, he was required to undergo dialysis several times a week for several hours at a time. (Id. at 4, ¶ 20.) Mr. Davis was also placed on the medical floor of the jail's Core Facility. (Doc. 85-1 at 20; Doc. 86-1 at 19.) During intake, “certain things [are] filled out, and then there's a chart made, ” which lists “health concerns each inmate has.” (Doc. 85-1 at 12.) The chart is accessible to medical personnel. (Id.)
On the night of October 17, 2017, the day before he died, Mr. Davis was in the infirmary. (Doc. 85-1 at 16-17.) No physicians were on duty that night at the Core Facility. (Id. at 15.) Nurse Cincotti was a charge nurse for Armor at the Core Facility and was working the night shift. (Id. at 7-8.) As charge nurse, she was responsible for the care of every inmate in custody in the Core Facility. (Id. at 9.) Prior to October 17, 2017, Nurse Cincotti had no interactions with Mr. Davis. (Id. at 15.) That night, however, she had several interactions with Mr. Davis because he complained of not feeling well. (Id. at 17.)
Nurse Cincotti recalls that, based on his medical records, Mr Davis had kidney disease and was a dialysis patient. (Id. at 18-19.) She also recalls that during her interactions with Mr. Davis on October 17, 2017, her licensed practical nurses checked his blood pressure, which was “a little low.” (Id. at 18-19.) Further she was aware that during her lunch break Mr. Davis was found lying on the floor next to his bed. (Id. at 26-27.) Mr. Davis's bunkmate also commented to her about Mr. Davis's health. (Id. at 29.) Nurse Cincotti did not recall checking Mr. Davis's lab results or calling a physician for advice on how to treat Mr. Davis because he “seemed stable, ” and was “alert, ” “oriented, ” and “making sense.” (Id. at 23-24, 29, 33.)
Deputy Tibai and Deputy Hutto were assigned to the medical floor at the Core Facility on the night of October 17, 2017 and the morning of October 18, 2017. (Doc. 86-1 at 8, 27.) Deputy Tibai's responsibility included the safety and control of the inmates at the Core Facility, which includes advising the nursing staff of any medical issues the inmates have. (Id. at 7-9.) Deputy Tibai had no medical training “other than CPR.” (Id. at 9-10.) Deputies at the Lee County Jail are not advised of any medical conditions of the inmates. (Id. at 12-14, 20.)
Deputy Tibai does not recall having any interaction with Mr. Davis prior to October 17, 2017. (Id. at 14.) Sometime around 11:00 p.m. that night, Mr. Davis first complained to Deputy Tibai “that he didn't feel good and that he wanted to go to the hospital.” (Id. at 18, 21.) Deputy Tibai asked him if he “was having chest pains, and he said, ‘No, '” so Deputy Tibai “went and got the medical staff.” (Id. at 23.)
Deputy Tibai assumes that Deputy Hutto was also “probably on the floor” at the time. (Id. at 20.) Deputy Hutto was present with Deputy Tibai when a nurse spoke with Mr. Davis, took vitals, and checked “all his appendages to make sure there was no scrapes, cuts or bruises on him.” (Id. at 21, 24-25, 27.) At the end of the evaluation, the nurse told Deputy Tibai “everything was ok and that we're good to go.” (Id. at 26.)
Deputy Tibai made rounds approximately every 30 minutes, and he recalls that Mr. Davis complained to him about not feeling well “multiple” and “more than five, less than ten” times. (Id. at 28-29.) Each time Mr. Davis complained to him, Deputy Tibai advised medical staff who would enter Mr. Davis's cell and take his vitals. (Id. at 25, 28-29, 33.) Other inmates waved down Deputies Tibai and Hutto during the night. (Id. at 33.) Deputy Tibai also recalled that Mr. Davis said he vomited one time “[l]ater in the night” and on another occasion was lying on the floor. (Id. at 30.) When Deputies Tibai and Hutto found Mr. Davis lying on the floor, they assisted him to his bed, medical staff was informed, and Mr. Davis made no complaints. (Id. at 31.) At no time did Mr. Davis complain about chest pain. (Id. at 30.)
At approximately 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. on October 18, 2017, the dialysis nurse came to take Mr. Davis for dialysis, but he said he did not want to go and asked to be taken to the hospital. (Id. at 49.) Deputy Tibai left his shift at 5:00 a.m. (Doc. 86-1 at 37.) Prior to the shift change, Deputy Tibai did “one more visual check” but does not recall whether Mr. Davis was awake or made any complaints. (Id.)
Deputy Tibai notified “the two deputies that were coming on about the issues with Mr. Davis, ” including that “Mr. Davis complained quite a bit, . . . had the nursing staff in there multiple times and he refused his dialysis.” (Id. at 37-39.) Nurse Cincotti left her shift “at roughly 6:00 a.m.” (Doc. 85-1 at 30.)
At approximately 6:30 a.m., Nurse Natasha Vargas came on duty and contacted a physician to conduct an assessment of Mr. Davis. (Doc. 50 at 7, ¶¶ 4549.) The physician instructed medical staff to have Mr. Davis transported to a hospital. (Id. at ¶ 50.) According to medical records, at approximately 8:00 a.m. Mr. Davis was transported to the Gulf Coast Hospital where he complained of shortness of breath and was hypoactive but was noted to be in no distress, had a blood pressure of 100/60, and was oriented to time, place, and self. (Id. at 7, ¶ 52; Doc. 82-3 at 4; Doc. 90-1 at 3; Doc. 82-6 at 3; Doc. 82-7 at 3.) He went into cardiac arrest and died at 10:22 a.m. (Doc. 50 at 8, ¶ 56; Doc. 82-2 at 1.) According to the coroner's report, Mr. Davis died of an acute myocardial infarction due to hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. (Doc. 82-2 at 1.)
The Estate raises several claims: a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 premised on a purported violation of Mr. Davis's “Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process by failing to provide Davis with such basic necessities as medical care” and deliberate indifference against Deputy Hutto (Count I), Deputy Tibai (Count II), and Nurse Cincotti (Count III), (Doc. 50 at ¶¶ 69, 81, 93); a section 1983 claim against the Sheriff, alleging that “Hutto, Tibai and Cincotti . . . were acting in accordance with [the] Sheriffs policies or customs” (Count IV), (id. at ¶¶ 105, 108-09); and a cause of action styled “wrongful death (negligence)” against the Sheriff, alleging that he breached various duties relating to Mr. Davis's medical care (Count V), (id. at ¶¶ 113-16).[2]
In essence, Plaintiffs allege that Mr. Davis was not provided the medical treatment that he needed and, as a result, died of sepsis. (Doc. 50 at ¶¶ 25-27, 40, 52-57.) They offer the expert opinion of Sumeet Shetty, M.D., who opines that “the interventions taken at the hospital would have been more effective in preserving Mr. Davis' life had he been transported to the hospital when he initially made complaints and requested to be transported to the hospital, at a minimum, on the evening of 10/17/17.” (Doc. 90-1 at 4.) He further opines that Mr. Davis arrived at the hospital “with a diagnosis of metabolic anion gap acidosis, secondary to acute renal failure, acute myocardial infarction and likely sepsis.” (Id. at 3.) Dr. Shetty notes that he “would like to review the cultures drawn” in the hospital, but there is no indication that he has done so. (Id.)
Defendants offer the expert opinion of Chad Zawitz, M.D., who observes that although sepsis “was in fact considered, ” there were no “clinical, radiologic, or autopsy findings indicating any source of infection, ” and the “microbiology reports from the cultures obtained on 10/18/17 showed no growth of bacteria, ruling out a systemic bloodstream infection and sepsis.” (Doc. 82-7 at 4-5.) Defendants also offer the expert opinion of Paul Adler, D.O., who opines that Mr. Davis did not die of sepsis, and that the staff at Lee County Jail was not deliberately indifferent to Mr. Davis's medical needs because, among other things, he was seen for his vital signs and complaints, and low blood pressure readings are “not uncommon in a patient with [end-stage renal disease] on dialysis.” (Doc. 82-6 at 3-4.)
Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all counts. (Doc. 82.) The...
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