Griffin v. Coffee Cnty.

Decision Date30 September 2022
Docket Number5:19-CV-92
PartiesTORREY GRIFFIN, individually and as the legal guardian of the minors RWR, ABG, and KRR, and as representative of the Estate of Shannon Rewis, deceased, Plaintiff, v. COFFEE COUNTY, et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Southern District of Georgia
ORDER

HON LISA GODBEY WOOD, JUDGE

Shannon Rewis swallowed two grams of methamphetamine (“meth”) in a plastic bag. After he was arrested at a hotel for drug related activity, the bag broke in his stomach, and he died of meth toxicity while in police custody. Torrey Griffin filed this lawsuit as a representative of both Rewis's estate and his minor children. Each of the fifteen Defendants moved for summary judgment.

Griffin's claim against Angelina Denise Waldron, LPN, is viable, so her motion for summary judgment, dkt. no. 88, is DENIED as to Count Twelve. The remainder of the motions dkt. nos. 88, 92, 93, 94, 97, are GRANTED.

BACKGROUND
A. Factual Background[1]

Shannon Rewis was arrested on October 20, 2017, at approximately 3:40 p.m. at the Fountain Inn in Douglas, Georgia. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 1; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 1. Rewis had been at the hotel for days using drugs and engaging in drug related activity. Dkt. No. 89-1 at 1:10:6-11:7, 1:11:20-12:9 2:36:3-16.

Rewis was transported to the Coffee County jail, and the booking process began shortly after 4:00 p.m. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 3; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 3; Dkt. No. 92-5 ¶ 2; Dkt. No. 120 ¶ 1. Defendant Linda Canty booked Rewis into the Coffee County jail. Dkt. No. 925 ¶ 12; Dkt. No. 120 ¶ 4. At some point after his arrest, Rewis called his mother, who later testified that Rewis sounded normal and that she did not suspect he was under the influence of any drugs or needed medical attention at the time. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 4; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 4; Dkt. No. 92-5 ¶¶ 4-5. Rewis did not tell his mother he had swallowed meth. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 5; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 5.

Rewis was placed in a holding cell in the booking area, where he stayed from approximately 5:02 p.m. until 7:07 p.m. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 6; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 6; Dkt. No. 92-5 ¶¶ 3, 6. Toward the end of that stretch, Defendants Oscar Wilson and Grant Grantham came on duty. Dkt. No. 92-5 ¶ 88; Dkt. No. 120 ¶ 5 (Wilson); Dkt. No. 925 ¶ 49; Dkt. No. 120 ¶ 11 (Grantham). Wilson and Grantham were both informed that Rewis was high on drugs and had either “eaten or taken” or “done” two grams of meth. Dkt. No. 117-11 at 4:21:322:23 (Wilson); Dkt. No. 110 at 12:16-15:19 (Grantham). And both noticed-despite the fact that the jail was not hot-that Rewis was sweating. Dkt. No. 92-5 ¶¶ 90-91; Dkt. No. 120 ¶¶ 6-7 (Wilson); Dkt. No. 117-11 at 3:18:22-19:17 (Grantham).

Around 7:05 p.m., an inmate told the jail staff that Rewis was not feeling well. Dkt. No. 120-6 at 2; Dkt. No. 108 at 43:611. Rewis was taken from the holding cell to a seat in the booking area for a medical intake evaluation. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 7; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 7; Dkt. No. 92-5 ¶ 7.

Defendant Angelina Denise Waldron, LPN, was contacted to perform a medical intake exam on Rewis. Dkt. No. 90 ¶¶ 8-9, 11; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶¶ 8-9, 11; Dkt. No. 120 ¶¶ 30-31. The jail staff did not relay any specific concerns to Waldron about Rewis's condition. Dkt. No. 109 at 40:14-21, 43:6-9. But Rewis “seemed agitated,” so Sergeant Michael Joyce decided to stay with Nurse Waldron during the intake. Dkt. No. 92-1 ¶¶ 3-4; see also Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 12; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 12. Initially, Rewis was responsive-but he also showed signs of agitation and appeared sweaty. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 13; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 13. In particular, when Waldron tried to measure Rewis's vital signs, he stood up abruptly and removed the blood pressure cuff from his arm. Dkt. No. 90 ¶¶ 14-15; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶¶ 14-15; Dkt. No. 92-1 ¶ 8. Because Rewis was agitated and uncooperative, Waldron was unable to take any of Rewis's other vital signs or complete the exam. Dkt. No. 109 at 28:23-29:12; Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 19; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 19.

Waldron asked Rewis if he had consumed any drugs prior to his arrest. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 16; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 16. Waldron said at her deposition that Rewis told her he “did two grams” of meth. Dkt. No. 109 at 46:2-9; see also Dkt. No. 92-1 ¶ 6 (affidavit of Michael Joyce, indicating Waldron asked what Rewis “had taken or was on” and Rewis answered “two grams of meth” (internal quotation marks omitted)). But Waldron did not recall Rewis specifying that he had eaten, swallowed, or ingested the meth. Dkt. No. 109 at 69:2470:5; see also Dkt. No. 92-1 ¶ 7(Joyce “never heard Inmate Rewis say that he had eaten or ingested meth”). Yet, Julia Thomas, the EMT who transported Rewis to Defendant Coffee Regional Medical Center (“CRMC”), indicated that Waldron told her Rewis had swallowed or ingested meth. Dkt. No. 117-12 at 2:27:17-28:6 (emphasis added). Officers at the jail apparently had the same understanding that Thomas did. Dkt. No. 117-2 at 6:27:23-28:3, 7:46:4-8 (Sergeant Grant Grantham); Dkt. No. 117-11 at 4:21:3- 22:23 (Officer Oscar Wilson), 5:28:7-23 (Defendant Shift Sergeant Rosa Brockington).

Particularly important here: Waldron acknowledged that the distinction between “doing” meth versus “eating” or “ingesting” meth matters. In particular, Waldron testified that she did not believe Rewis was in need of emergency care until she was contacted regarding his condition at approximately 10:45 p.m. Dkt. No. 109 at 78:14-25, 84:2-5, 190:18-23. But that statement turned on her recollection that Rewis told her he did two grams of meth. Id. at 46:2-9. Waldron separately admitted that, if Rewis had told her that he had swallowed two grams of meth, then she would know he was at risk of an overdose and needed emergency care. Id. at 187:16-21; 162:4-21.

Following the intake exam, Rewis was placed in an observation cell. Waldron directed officers to put Rewis in the observation cell because she had not been able to complete the intake exam, and (in her words) Rewis indicated he “may be detoxing”-so she wanted the officers to keep an eye on him. Dkt. No. 109 at 54:2155:23; Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 20; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 20. Waldron observed Rewis from the intake area for a time, performing intake exams on other inmates, before leaving at some point to pull medications for other inmates. Dkt. No. 109 at 73:2-9, 90:6-15, 174:18-175:6; Dkt. No. 117-28 at 7 (showing Waldron began pulling medications at 19:25 hours, i.e., 7:25 p.m.). And while the officers on duty could not see everything going on inside the cell, dkt. no. 117-5 at 2:37:11-18, officers in the booking area had a clear line of sight, dkt. no. 92-2 ¶ 6; dkt. no. 92-3 ¶ 7.

Some of the officers on duty after the intake exam testified that they saw Rewis sweating or pacing or acting fidgety. Dkt. No. 92-3 ¶¶ 7-9 (Lindsey Griswold); Dkt. No. 92-1 ¶¶ 11-12 (Michael Joyce); Dkt. No. 110 at 42:15-23 (Grant Grantham). But Rewis never stated he was in distress, and he never requested medical attention of any kind. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 28; Dkt. No. 92-2 ¶¶ 8-9; Dkt. No. 1171 ¶ 28.

Hours later, around 10:45 p.m., Rewis collapsed in his cell. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 29; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 29; Dkt No. 92-5 ¶¶ 69, 85, 98; Dkt. No. 120 ¶ 15. An ambulance was called at 10:47 p.m., dkt. no. 90 ¶ 33; dkt. no. 117-1 ¶ 33, and it arrived at 10:53 p.m., dkt. no. 90 ¶ 34; dkt. no. 117-1 ¶ 34. Rewis was taken to the hospital, where he died the following afternoon. Dkt. No. 90 ¶¶ 35-36; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶¶ 35-36. The autopsy revealed a loosely tied, torn, plastic baggie of meth inside Rewis's stomach, leading to death from meth toxicity. Dkt. No. 90 ¶ 37; Dkt. No. 117-1 ¶ 37; Dkt. No. 120 ¶ 16.

Rewis's treating physician at the hospital, Dr. James Sinclair, testified that he believed the delay in treating Rewis's condition “contribute[d] to, not “caused,” Rewis's death. Dkt. No. 117-9 at 13:95:10-21.

B. Procedural Background

Torey Griffin filed this lawsuit both on behalf of Rewis's estate and as the legal guardian of Rewis's minor children. See generally Dkt. No. 1. Griffin alleges nearly two dozen claims. Counts One through Fifteen allege constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against:

Coffee County, dkt. no. 1 ¶¶ 71-81 (Count One);
• Sheriff Doyle Wooten, id. ¶¶ 82-94 (Count Two);
• Jail Administrator Kim Phillips, id. ¶¶ 95-107 (Count Three);
• Sergeant Grantham, id. ¶¶ 108-15 (Count Four);
• Sergeant Brockington, id. ¶¶ 116-23 (Count Five);
• Officer Joyce, id. ¶¶ 124-32 (Count Six);
• Officer Canty, id. ¶¶ 133-40 (Count Seven);
• Corporal Wilson, id. ¶¶ 141-49 (Count Eight);
• Officer Courson, id. ¶¶ 150-58 (Count Nine);
• Officer Taylor, id. ¶¶ 159-67 (Count Ten);
• Officer Griswold, id. ¶¶ 168-76 (Count Eleven);
• Nurse Waldron, id. ¶¶ 177-85 (Count Twelve);
• CRH Health Care (“CRH”), id. ¶¶ 186-94 (Count Thirteen);
Emergency Physicians LLC, id. ¶¶ 195-203 (Count Fourteen); and • CRMC, id. ¶¶ 204-13 (Count Fifteen).

Griffin's remaining claims are state law claims, including medical malpractice against:

• Nurse Waldron, id. ¶¶ 214-22 (Count Sixteen);
• Waldron's employers, CRMC, id. ¶¶ 223-27 (Count Seventeen) and Emergency Physicians, LLC (Count Nineteen), id. ¶¶ 23235; and
• CRMC's parent company, CRH, id. ¶¶ 228-31 (Count Eighteen).

Finally, Griffin alleges gross negligence against everyone (Count Twenty), id. ¶¶ 236-39, and seeks punitive damages and attorney fees under Georgia law (Counts Twenty-One and Twenty-Two), id. ¶¶ 240-46.

During discovery, Griffin offered Dr. Kris Sperry as an expert witness on causation. Dkt. No. 74-1. Sperry opined that failure to arrange immediate transfer to the hospital caused Rewis's death. Id.[2] Defendants moved to exclude Sperry's opinion, arguing that he was not qualified to offer an opinion on the survivability of a meth overdose-and thus, that his opinions are...

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