Gleeson v. Cnty. of Nassau
| Decision Date | 30 September 2019 |
| Docket Number | 15-CV-6487 (AMD) (RL) |
| Parties | JOHN GLEESON in His Own Right and as Co-Administrator of the Estate of John P. Gleeson, Deceased, MARGARET GLEESON in Her Own Right and as Co-Administrator of the Estate of John P. Gleeson, Deceased, DONNA DEMPSEY on behalf of and as the Natural Parent and Guardian of the Property of both E.A.G., an Infant, and J.P.G., an Infant , Plaintiffs, v. COUNTY OF NASSAU, NASSAU COUNTY CORRECTIONAL CENTER, NASSAU COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, MICHAEL J. SPOSATO Individually and as Sheriff of Nassau County, ARMOR CORRECTIONAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC., ARMOR CORRECTIONAL HEALTH SERVICES OF NEW YORK, INC., NASSAU COUNTY CORRECTIONS OFFICERS, "JOHN DOES 1-10" in their Individual and Official Capacities, ARMOR CORRECTIONAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC. EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS, "JOHN AND JANE DOES 11-20" in their Individual and Official Capacities, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
The plaintiffs brought this action against Nassau County, Nassau County Correctional Center ("NCCC"), Nassau County Sheriff's Department, Nassau County Sheriff Michael J. Sposato (collectively the "County defendants"), Armor Correctional Health Services, Armor Correctional Health Services of New York (collectively the "Armor defendants"), and unnamed corrections officers and health services employees, in connection with the death of John P. Gleeson, who died while he was detained at the NCCC. (ECF No. 1.) The plaintiffs—surviving members of Mr. Gleeson's family—brought federal claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging inadequate medical care under the Fourteenth Amendment, and state law claims for wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress. (Id.) On November 19, 2018, the defendants moved for summary judgment. (ECF Nos. 57, 60.) For the reasons that follow, the defendants' motion is granted in part, and denied in part.
The NCCC is a correctional facility operated by the Nassau County Sheriff's Department, an agency of Nassau County. (ECF No. 69, Pls.' 56.1 Counter-Statement in Response to County defendants ( 2 Between 1999 and 2000, the United StatesDepartment of Justice ("DOJ") investigated conditions at the NCCC. (Id. ¶¶ 20-21.) On September 11, 2000, the DOJ found that the NCCC was deliberately indifferent to its inmates' medical and mental needs, and that corrections officers at the NCCC had a practice of using excessive force. (Id. ¶ 22.) The DOJ sued Nassau County in this Court on April 22, 2002. (Id. ¶ 23.) The parties entered into a settlement agreement the same day, dismissing the case subject to the County's compliance with certain terms to improve conditions at the NCCC. (Id. ¶ 23-25.)
The settlement agreement included specific policies and programs that the NCCC would develop and implement to improve inmate health care, including: (i) written medical policies, procedures, and protocols relating to initial health assessments, sick calls, emergency care, and medical records (Id. ¶ 28); (ii) new inmate health screenings that included the inmates' input about their medical history, current medication, allergy information, and immunization history (Id. ¶ 29); (iii) a written chronic care disease management program (Id. ¶ 34); and (iv) a written functional quality improvement program that included self-evaluations, recommendations for clinical guidelines, and internal peer reviews (Id. ¶ 38). To implement the quality improvement program, the NCCC was required to establish a Quality Improvement Committee ("QIC") chaired by a physician. (ECF No. 74-1, ¶¶ 55-56.) The terms of the settlement required the QIC to have ten monthly meetings each year to "review the status of health care provided to inmates," and to report its work to the Sheriff each month. (Id.)
On May 5, 2008, the parties filed a stipulation to dismiss the case because of the NCCC's substantial compliance with the settlement agreement. (Id. ¶ 53.) The Honorable Leonard Wexler "so ordered" the stipulation of dismissal on March 20, 2008. (Id. ¶ 55.)
On July 20, 2009, the County sought proposals from third-party organizations to providemedical, behavioral, and dental health care at the NCCC. (Id. ¶ 56.) The County's request specified that bidders must meet the standards of all DOJ settlement agreements. (Id. ¶¶ 57-62.)
On October 13, 2009, the Armor defendants3 submitted a bid in which they acknowledged and agreed to meet the standards of the settlement agreement, adding that Armor "had experience complying with DOJ requirements having inherited a situation...in which the DOJ cited the facility and the former healthcare provider." (Id. ¶¶ 64, 67.) A committee that included representatives from the County's Office of Management and Budget, Department of Health, Office of Mental Health, the Sheriff's Department, and the County Attorney's Office evaluated Armor's proposal, and gave it the highest score of the six other proposals. (Id. ¶¶ 85-87.) Armor and the NCCC entered into a proposed contract on March 18, 2011. (Id. ¶ 88.)
Pursuant to the contract, Armor agreed to provide services consistent with the standards established by the settlement agreement. (Id. ¶ 90.) Armor agreed, for example, to "develop and maintain a chronic care disease management program, consistent with nationally accepted disease guidelines[,]" (id. ¶ 96), and to "perform medical and mental health intake screenings within four hours of an inmate's admission to the NCCC." (Id. ¶ 93.) The contract also expressly incorporated the services outlined in Armor's contract proposal (id. ¶ 90), which included plans to install an electronic medical records system (ECF No. 57-3, Armor Contract 2011-2013 ("2011 Armor Contract") at 92, 228-31) and a protocol for approving referrals to offsite specialists (id. at 194-97). In its cost proposal, Armor allocated $78,688 of the contract cost for the installation of the electronic medical records system in the first year of the contract. (Id. at 92.) Armor represented that it emphasized "medical necessity" when it screened requestsfor offsite treatment; according to Armor, its process reduced "unnecessary offsite trips" and resulted in "substantial savings in security costs and NCCC overhead." (Id. at 194-97.) Under Armor's protocol, an Armor clinician initiated the process by submitting a specialist's request form to Armor's Director of Utilization Management and Medical Director of Utilization Management, both of whom were in Florida. (Id.) The directors reviewed the request to determine whether it was a "medical necessity" and either approved it or deferred it to be reevaluated within 30 days. (Id.)
On April 18, 2011, the proposed contract was submitted to the Rules Committee of the Nassau County Legislature for approval. (Pls.' 56.1 (County) ¶ 106.) Michael Golio, Commanding Officer of the Sheriff's Department's Legal Unit at the NCCC, spoke in favor of the proposed contract, and highlighted its accountability and high standards of care: 4 (Id. ¶ 110.) The Rules Committee approved the contract and, on May 5, 2011, the Nassau County Executive signed the contract with Armor. (Id. ¶¶ 112-13.)
On June 11, 2011, only eleven days after Armor began providing medical care at the NCCC, an inmate, Roy Nordstrom, died of an acute myocardial infarction. (ECF No. 71-31.) On September 18, 2012, the New York State Commission of Correction's Medical Review Board5 issued a report addressed to Sheriff Sposato and copied to Edward P. Mangano, who wasthe Nassau County Executive at the time. The Medical Review Board concluded that Mr. Nordstrom died as a result of "grossly incompetent" medical care, and issued the following directive to the Nassau County Executive:
The Office of the Nassau County Executive shall conduct an inquiry into the fitness of Armor Correctional Health Services, Inc. as a correctional medical care provider in the Nassau County Correctional Center. Specific attention shall be directed to Armor's flagrant disregard of New York State Education Law, of the Rules of the Board of Regents, and of New York State nursing practice regulations, to wit, staffing unsupervised Licensed Practical Nurses at the Correctional Center who engaged in nursing practice beyond the scope of their licensure and in unlawful medical practice, who failed to consult with and refer to a physician in a medical emergency, and who failed to hospitalize a critically ill patient.
(Id. at 9.)
The County's two-year contract with Armor expired on May 31, 2013. (Pls.' 56.1 (County) ¶ 114.) On August 1, 2013, the County extended its contract with Armor to run until May 31, 2015. (Id. ¶ 119.)
Mr. Gleeson, 40 years old at the time of his death, had a history of hereditary angioedema. He went to the hospital for swelling beginning in 2002, and was diagnosed with hereditary angioedema in 2007 or 2008. (ECF No. 57-11, Margaret Gleeson Dep. ("M.G. Dep."), 105:6-16, 107:8-11.) Hereditary angioedema, which typically results from a quantitative or functional deficiency of the C1 esterase inhibitor protein, is a disorder that causes recurrent, severe swelling in the extremities, gastrointestinal tract, face, throat, and airways. (ECF No. 71-6, ¶ 10.) Left untreated, the airway swelling can lead to asphyxia and death. (Id.)
Mr. Gleeson took prednisone (a steroid) and Benadryl (an antihistamine) for hisangioedema. (M.G. Dep. 123:8-22.) If the swelling moved from his hands to his chest or neck—which was more serious—Mr. Gleeson went to the emergency room. (Id.) His mother estimated that he went to the emergency...
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