Ford v. Anderson Cnty.
| Decision Date | 05 May 2022 |
| Docket Number | 6:19-cv-384-JDK |
| Parties | AMBER FORD, et al., Plaintiffs, v. ANDERSON COUNTY, TEXAS, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas |
This case arises out of the tragic death of Rhonda Gay Newsome while in the custody of the Anderson County Jail. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants violated Newsome's Fourteenth Amendment rights by ignoring her deteriorating medical condition in the days leading up to her death. Defendants assert that they provided Newsome with appropriate medical care and were in the process of treating her when she died. The individual Defendants thus argue that they are entitled to qualified immunity because they were not deliberately indifferent to her serious medical needs and their conduct was objectively reasonable in light of clearly established law.
As explained below, the Court holds that the moving Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity and GRANTS their motions for summary judgment. Docket Nos. 208, 209, 210.
Unless otherwise noted, the following facts are undisputed. The Court views all inferences to be drawn from the facts “in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, ” Plaintiffs here. E.g. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986).
Rhonda Gay Newsome was arrested on March 9, 2018, for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Docket No. 209, Ex. N at ¶ 0283. According to the police report, Newsome attempted to stab her adult daughter with a pair of scissors following an argument. Id. Newsome was medically cleared at Palestine Regional Medical Center before being transported to the Anderson County Jail. Docket No. 209 at 10; id. Ex. M at 000335-37; Docket No. 210 at 3; id., Ex. A at 3. Her lab results were “unremarkable, ” showing “normal” levels of blood urea nitrogen (“BUN”) and glomerular filtration rate (“GFR”), which indicate kidney function. Docket No. 51 ¶ 44 n.3. The treating physician prescribed Newsome ibuprofen and Robaxin as needed for pain associated with strains and sprains. Docket No. 209, Ex. N at ¶ 0356-58. Newsome was then taken to the Anderson County Jail pretrial detention facility, where she was processed in the early morning hours of March 10. Docket No. 209, Ex. N at ¶ 0277; Docket No. 210, Ex. A at 3.
Newsome was fifty years old when she was booked into the jail. Docket No. 209 at 2. According to her intake form, Newsome suffered from several preexisting medical conditions, including Addison's disease (a hormonal disorder), fibromyalgia seizures, joint or disc disease, spinal stenosis, and osteoarthritis. Docket No. 51 ¶ n.4; Docket No. 209, Ex. A at 27; id., Ex. N at ¶ 0373. The form also indicates that Newsome was taking ten different prescription medications at the time, admitted to having a history of drug and alcohol abuse, was taking anti-depressants, stated “multiple times” that she wanted to kill herself, had attempted suicide in the past, experienced “ringing in ears” and auditory hallucinations, and suffered from both PTSD and bipolar disorder. Docket No. 209, Ex. M at 000158. Newsome's daughter, Plaintiff Amber Ford, later revealed additional health-related conditions that Newsome did not disclose at intake, including that Newsome had previously undergone seven different back and neck surgeries and “had a lot of different issues with that, ” had a history of abusing methamphetamine, and was “presumably . . . using meth” at the time Newsome attacked Ford. Docket No. 209, Ex. G at 19, 24-25.
The following day, on March 11, nurse Timothy Green personally examined Newsome. Id., Ex. N at ¶ 0394. Green is a critical care registered nurse who was a part-time employee of Anderson County during the relevant period. Id., Ex. A at 29; Docket No. 208, Ex. U. Green and Newsome discussed her medical history and medications, and Green instituted a treatment plan to “continue the medications that [Newsome] was on.” Docket No. 209, Ex. A at 26. Green also directed “the jail staff to monitor [Newsome] as best they could and . . . notify Dr. [Adam] Corley [about any changes in her condition].” Docket No. 209 at 4; id., Ex. A at 25-27. Dr. Corley is a medical doctor who was serving as the jail's medical director. Docket No. 209, Ex. C at 29. Green also attempted to obtain Newsome's medical records from her physicians, but the records were never sent. Id., Ex. A at 96-97, 107.
From March 10 until Newsome's death on June 15, Defendants responded to Newsome's medical needs on multiple occasions.
March 10 to June 14.
During the months of March, April, and May, Newsome periodically complained of minor medical issues, including acid reflux, lower back pain, and flatulence. Docket No. 209, Ex. N at ¶ 0328, 0379, 0388-89. She also requested refills of various prescriptions, access to the medications she had brought with her to the jail, and a “muscle rub” for neck and back pain. Id., Ex. N at ¶ 0324, 0326, 0372, 0376, 0378-79. The Defendant jailers documented these issues, generally responded to her requests, and in some instances conferred with or referred her to nurse Green or Dr. Corley. Id. On April 4, Newsome mistakenly took an extra blood pressure pill. Green treated her with a liter of saline, placed her on medical observation with repeat blood pressure readings, and personally examined her on April 4 and 5. Id. at ¶ 0374-75, 0394. Green's written notes of the April 5 visit indicate that Newsome's blood pressure had stabilized and that he would attempt again to obtain her medical records. Id. at ¶ 0394.
On April 16 and 18, Newsome complained of acid reflux. Id. at ¶ 0328, 0378. Defendant jailers initially gave her over-the-counter medication, and Green followed up by personally examining Newsome on April 20. Green noted leg swelling and a stable blood pressure reading, and he stated that he would order a blood draw the following day. Id. at ¶ 0393. Green also placed Newsome on medical observation, during which jailers observed and logged her actions every fifteen minutes. Id. at AC0377.
The observation log shows that Newsome spent the day lying down or sitting at the window and showed no signs that raised concern. Id.
On May 11, Dr. Corley personally examined Newsome at the jail. His written notes state that Newsome's “chief complaint” was “gas, ” she had “a long history of neck pain with multiple surgeries, ” and she was “in no distress” during the examination. Dr. Corley logged Newsome's vital signs, indicated that her heartrate and rhythm were “normal” and “regular, ” and stated that her “mood and affect are normal.” Id. at ¶ 0388-89. Dr. Corley also noted that “[a]mong her problems is that she has Addison disease [and] multiple neck surgeries, ” but that “[e]valuation of her past history is complicated because the patient is a poor historian.” Id. Dr. Corley stated that the jail had requested Newsome's medical records from her primary care physician and that he would “follow up on this.” Id.
There were no further substantiated incidents between May 12 and June 14. Green later testified that he and Newsome “had a very open line of communication” regarding her medical treatment and that she “wasn't a problematic patient at all.” Docket No. 209, Ex. A at 109.
June 14 to June 15.
Late on June 14, Newsome began vomiting and experiencing stomach pain and pain in her right flank. Docket No. 209, Ex. A at 118-123; id. at ¶ 0393; Docket No. 218, Ex. I at 1. She complained to jail staff, who contacted Green. Green went to the jail around midnight, personally examined Newsome, and stated that he consulted by phone with Dr. Corley. Docket No. 209, Ex. A at 58-60, 106, 115. At Dr. Corley's instruction, Green administered one liter of saline and fifty milligrams of Phenergan to treat Newsome's nausea. Id. at 58-60. Green testified that Newsome “was talking, alert, oriented” during the examination. Id. at 120. “She complained of some mild nausea and some vomiting - or the two -one or two episodes of vomiting.” Id. Her “[v]ital signs were stable, ” and she did not have “shortness of breath or chest pain.” Id.; Id., Ex. N at ¶ 0393. Green did not believe Newsome needed to go to the hospital, but he asked her if she wanted to go. She declined. Docket No. 209, Ex. A at 123.[1]
After treating Newsome, Green placed her on medical observation and instructed jail staff to move her to a holding cell where they could observe her more easily throughout the night. Id., Ex. N at ¶ 0393; Ex. A at 35; Docket No 218, Ex. I. During the night, other inmates heard Newsome moaning and requesting medical treatment. Docket No. 214, Ex. O; id., Ex. P; id., Ex. Q; see also Docket No. 218, Ex. E; id., Ex. F; id., Ex. G.[2] Although the written observation logs for June 14-15 are not before the Court, the parties agree that jail staff checked on Newsome thirty-one times during the seventeen-hour period between midnight of June 14 and her death on the evening of June 15. Docket No. 210 at 24; Docket No. 218 at 14 (); see also Docket No. 214, Ex. M. Several jailers, moreover, testified that they observed Newsome throughout the night and that “she did not look like she was having a medical emergency.” Docket No. 210, Ex. B at 2; see also id., Ex. E at 2 (); id. Ex. G at 2 (same from Dakota Hughes). At least one detainee reported hearing Newsome “crying out loudly” for help for about two hours that night. Docket No. 218, Ex. F. At 2:02 a.m., Green spoke with jail staff by...
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