Edson v. Riverview Psychiatric Ctr.
| Decision Date | 28 February 2017 |
| Docket Number | 1:16-cv-00079-JAW |
| Parties | ARLENE EDSON, Plaintiff, v. RIVERVIEW PSYCHIATRIC CENTER, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maine |
This case arises out of an incident that took place on December 2, 2013, in which staff at Riverview Psychiatric Center allegedly pepper sprayed, restrained, secluded, and failed to treat a patient without good cause. The patient filed a lawsuit against a number of state of Maine defendants in both their official and individual capacities. Mary Mayhew, the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, moves to dismiss all individual capacity claims brought against her. The Court grants the motion to dismiss with respect to the constitutional claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because the Plaintiff failed to plead sufficient facts to demonstrate that the Commissioner herself violated the patient's rights or acted or failed to act with deliberate indifference to them. The Court dismisses without prejudice the motion to dismiss the negligent supervision claim under Maine law because this aspect of the motion has not been thoroughly briefed and the Court is not sufficiently confident about the status of the tort in Maine to grant or deny the motion to dismiss.
On December 1, 2015, Arlene Edson filed a complaint in Kennebec County Superior Court for the state of Maine against Riverview Psychiatric Center (Riverview) and a number of other state of Maine entities and individuals, including Mary Mayhew, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), in her official and individual capacities. Aff. of John J. Wall, III Attach. 3 Compl. (ECF No. 7). On February 10, 2016, Jamie Meader, a named Defendant, removed the case to this Court. Notice of Removal (ECF No. 1). On June 22, 2016, Commissioner Mayhew moved to dismiss the Complaint insofar as it made allegations against her in her individual capacity. Def. Mary Mayhew's Mot. to Dismiss Individual Capacity Claims (ECF No. 65) (Def.'s Mot.). On July 12, 2016, Ms. Edson filed her opposition to the motion to dismiss. Pl.'s Opp'n to Def. Mary Mayhew's Mot. to Dismiss Individual Capacity Claims (ECF No. 71) (Pl.'s Opp'n). On July 26, 2016, Commissioner Mayhew filed a reply. Def. Mary Mayhew's Reply in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss Individual Capacity Claims (ECF No. 73) (Def.'s Reply).1
Arlene Edson has been a patient at Riverview since 2011. Second Am. Compl. ¶ 1. She has profoundly serious psychiatric illnesses and was involuntarily committed to Riverview after being found Not Criminally Responsible on arson and assault charges. Id. ¶¶ 1, 19. On December 2, 2013, Ms. Edson was pepper sprayed by Riverview employees, restrained in five-point restraints, and kept isolated for hours before anyone responded to her pleas for help. Id. ¶ 1. During all times relevant to this civil action, including December 2, 2013, Mary Mayhew was the Commissioner and policymaker for MDHHS. Id. ¶¶ 5, 26.
MDHHS is a state agency responsible for overseeing Riverview. Id. ¶ 14. Riverview is a state-operated forensic hospital located in Augusta, Maine that provides psychiatric services to the corrections and judicial systems, including care for those committed under Maine statutes for observation and evaluation, persons found not criminally responsible, and for those found incompetent to stand trial. Id. ¶ 15. Since 1990, Riverview has been operating under a Consent Decree and incorporated Settlement Agreement. Id. ¶ 16. According to the Consent Decree, Riverview3 failed to meet constitutional, statutory, and regulatory standards which deprived patients of fundamental rights, including freedom from restraint and freedom from abuse. Id. ¶ 17. The Consent Decree is a contract between MDHHS and class members, which includes all patients admitted to Riverview on or after January 1, 1988; Ms. Edson is a member of this protected class. Id. ¶ 18.
Riverview is a Medicaid and/or Medicare participating hospital that has accepted federal funds. Id. ¶ 20. Following two highly publicized incidents of client abuse and subsequent investigation, the United States Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) found that Riverview violated constitutional, statutory, and regulatory standards. Id. ¶ 21. As a result of Riverview's multiple violations, it was decertified by CMS on or about September 2, 2013 for failing to comply substantially with Title XVIII of the Social Security Act and implementing regulations of the Secretary of Health and Human Services specified at 42 C.F.R. Part 482, Conditions of Participations for Hospitals. Id. ¶ 22. For approximately two years, Riverview operated without court supervision under the Consent Decree until about October 25, 2013, when State Superior Court supervision was reinstated. Id. ¶ 23.
A special relationship existed between Arlene Edson and Riverview because the law required her to be in Riverview's physical custody. Id. ¶ 24. As a result of the special relationship, Mary Mayhew had a duty to control the conduct of parties to prevent them from harming Ms. Edson. Id. ¶ 25. On December 2, 2013, Ms. Edson was a forensic patient at Riverview, housed in the Lower Saco Unit, which Riverview used to house forensic patients. Id. ¶¶ 28-29.
During the evening of December 2, 2013, William Lord, Jr. was the Registered Nurse and the Nurse on Duty in the Lower Saco Unit. Id. ¶ 30. During that evening, Kelly Lavigne and Carlos Taylor, III were working as corrections officers (COs) in the Lower Saco Unit under contract between Riverview and/or MDHHS and the Maine Department of Corrections. Id. ¶ 31. Corrections Officers Lavigne and Taylor wore video camera recording devices while on duty at Riverview that evening. Id. ¶ 32. Riverview also had surveillance video cameras, which recorded the hall and nurses' station in the Lower Saco Unit. Id. ¶ 33.
On December 2, 2013 at approximately 8:15 p.m., Ms. Edson left a bathroom and walked into a conference room. Id. ¶ 34. When she walked into the conference room, Ms. Edson was followed by a corrections officer but no clinical staff. Id. ¶ 35. Ms. Edson asked to be left alone, but the corrections officer confronted her about a comment she had made earlier in the evening. Id. ¶ 36. Ms. Edson left the conference room and began to undress as she walked back to her room. Id. ¶ 37. Nurse Lord said to Ms. Edson: "I'll go with a three-strike rule basically, if we gotta do that." Id. ¶ 38. After that, Ms. Edson put her clothing outside the door leading to the hallway. Id. ¶ 39. Nurse Lord and three other Riverview employees saw Ms. Edson put her clothes in the hallway. Id. ¶ 40. A corrections officer picked up Ms. Edson's clothing and placed it in the doorway of her room, after which Ms. Edson kicked her clothes back into the hallway. Id. ¶ 41. Out of view of Riverview's surveillance cameras, a corrections officer picked up Ms. Edson's clothes and removed them from the hallway. Id. ¶ 42.
On December 2, 2013 at approximately 8:58 p.m., Ms. Edson was standing naked in her room with her back against a wall, shoulders hunched forward, displaying no signs of assaultive, violent or aggressive behavior. Id. ¶ 43. Without provocation, Corrections Officer Lavigne sprayed Ms. Edson with pepper spray, causing her to cough, spit, choke and double over in pain. Id. ¶ 44. Corrections Officer Taylor asked Nurse Lord: "Do you want [Ms. Edson] cuffed?" Id. ¶ 45. After Nurse Lord said "yes," Corrections Officer Taylor handcuffed Ms. Edson while she was on the floor, even though she was not assaultive, violent or aggressive. Id. ¶ 46.
Ms. Edson told Corrections Officers Lavigne and Taylor that she could not breathe and asked for a shower to remove the pepper spray, but her requests were ignored. Id. ¶ 47. Ms. Edson was wrapped in a sheet, taken to another room, placed on her back, and placed in five-point restraints. Id. ¶ 48. Ms. Edson told those present that the pepper spray was running down her nose and once again begged for a shower to remove the pepper spray. Id. ¶ 49. While Ms. Edson was begging for a shower, a male Riverview staff member could be heard on the recording coughing from the pepper spray used against Ms. Edson. Id. ¶ 50. A video recording shows that at 9:04 p.m., Ms. Edson continued to beg for a shower and asked for someone to speak with the nurse. Id. ¶ 51. The video recording shows a mental health worker wiping his or her face off with a wash cloth in an effort to remove the pepper spray affecting him or her. Id. ¶ 52.
On December 2, 2013, Nurse Lord talked on the telephone and stood at the nurses' station for approximately fifteen minutes after Ms. Edson was pepper sprayed. Id. ¶ 53. Ms. Edson continued to cough, beg and whimper from the effects of the pepper spray and was denied a blanket and the water she asked for. Id. ¶ 54. A Riverview video recording shows Ms. Edson was still restrained at 9:18 p.m., while she continued to ask for a nurse. Id. ¶ 55. Ms. Edson told a Riverview nurse on duty that her side was burning, and in response, Staff said: "If it was burning that bad, you would know what to do to get out of here, but you aren't," after which they left her still in restraints with the corrections officers. Id. ¶¶ 56-57. Riverview's surveillance video shows that Ms. Edson was passive and cooperative throughout these events. Id. ¶ 58.
Ms. Edson was not seen by a nurse until 11:30 p.m., almost three hours after she was pepper sprayed. Id. ¶ 59. The nurse who saw Ms. Edson discussed "boundaries" with her, after which she released her from the restraints and allowed her to take a shower. Id. ¶ 60. Ms. Edson suffered extreme physical and mental pain and humiliation by being pepper sprayed and restrained without cause or provocation...
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