Groover v. Polk Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs
| Decision Date | 09 November 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 8:18-cv-2454-KKM-TGW |
| Citation | 570 F.Supp.3d 1134 |
| Parties | Sherry GROOVER, as Personal Representative of the Estate of John Darrell Hamilton, deceased, for the benefit of his survivors and estate; Sherry Groover, individually; Aimee Hamilton Goss; Julie Jacoby; and Lois Fulkerson, Plaintiffs, v. POLK COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS; City of Winter Haven; Jason Montgomery, individually; Timothy Christen Sen, individually; Cory Hart, individually; and Justin Riner, individually, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida |
James Roscoe Tanner, Tanner Law Group PLLC, Tampa, FL, Marie A. Mattox, Marie A. Mattox PA, Tallahassee, FL, for Plaintiffs.
Barbara W. Davis, Jonathan Barnet Trohn, Valenti, Campbell, Trohn, Tamayo & Aranda, PA, Lakeland, FL, for Defendant Polk County Board of County Commissioners.
Jenna Marie Winchester, William E. Lawton, Gail C. Bradford, S. Renee Lundy, Dean, Ringers, Morgan & Lawton, PA, Orlando, FL, for Defendant City of Winter Haven, Florida.
Jenna Marie Winchester, William E. Lawton, Gail C. Bradford, S. Renee Lundy, Dean, Ringers, Morgan & Lawton, PA, Orlando, FL, Eric J. Netcher, Osceola County Circuit Court, Kissimmee, FL, for Defendants Jason Montgomery, Cory Hart, Justin Riner.
Barbara W. Davis, Jonathan Barnet Trohn, Campbell Trohn Tomayo & Aranda PA, Lakeland, FL, for Defendant Timothy Christensen.
In May 2014, John Hamilton suffered a heart attack at his home and died in front of his mother, Lois Fulkerson. Despite Fulkerson's efforts to seek emergency medical assistance, she told the 911 operator before help arrived that Hamilton was dead and it was too late. The paramedic shortly thereafter confirmed that Hamilton was, tragically, dead. Within weeks of her son's death, Fulkerson filed an official complaint with Polk County alleging that the medical personnel provided insufficient care to her son. Over the course of the next two years, Hamilton's sister and mother continued to press their belief that, had medical personnel not been negligent, Hamilton could have survived, including filing a second complaint with Polk County in June 2015, sending numerous emails complaining of the care provided, and consulting with several lawyers. But they did not initiate this action until May 2018, four years after Hamilton's death.
In their Corrected Fifth Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs Sherry Groover (as representative of the estate of John Darrell Hamilton and individually), Aimee Hamilton Goss, Julie Jacoby, and Lois Fulkerson allege that the Individual Defendants, who are emergency medical technicians (EMTs) for Polk County and the City of Winter Haven, failed to administer life-saving care to Hamilton when they responded to his mother's 911 call, resulting in Hamilton's death. (Doc. 151.) Plaintiffs bring various claims under federal and state law, including Fourteenth Amendment violations under the federal constitution, wrongful death, professional and common law negligence, and negligent training. (Id. ) Defendants Polk County Board of County Commissioners, City of Winter Haven, Jason Montgomery, Timothy Christensen, Cory Hart, and Justin Riner move for summary judgment against the Plaintiffs. (Docs. 188, 189, 190, 191.) The Defendants also move to exclude Plaintiffs’ experts. (Docs. 210, 211.)
The Plaintiffs’ claims sounding in negligence are time-barred, and the Plaintiffs fail to establish sufficient facts for a reasonable jury to conclude that, more likely than not, the Defendants caused Hamilton's death. And even if Plaintiffs showed sufficient evidence of causation, the Plaintiffs have not established sufficient facts to prove that the Individual Defendants violated Hamilton's substantive due process rights through conduct that amounted to a "purpose to cause harm" or more than deliberate indifference. Alternatively, the Individual Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established that their conduct in this factual situation satisfied that extremely high standard. Finally, the Plaintiffs conspiracy claims fail for lack of causation and because there are no actionable underlying tort or constitutional claims. For all these reasons, the Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment are GRANTED .
Early in the morning on May 3, 2014, Hamilton suffered a heart attack at the home he shared with his mother, Fulkerson. (Doc. 151 ¶¶ 12, 14.) When Hamilton began to feel ill, he asked Fulkerson to call 911. (Doc. 187 ¶ 6; Doc. 198 ¶ 6.) She knew something was terribly wrong by the sound of his voice and called 911 at 5:23 A.M. (Doc. 187 ¶ 8; Doc. 198 ¶ 8.) While Fulkerson was still on the line with the 911 operator, Hamilton fell down the stairs and hit his head on the terrazzo floor. (Doc. 187 ¶ 9; Doc. 198 ¶ 9; Doc. 203-14.) The 911 operator instructed Fulkerson to do CPR; she attempted to do chest compressions but was too weak due to her own health problems. (Doc. 187 ¶¶ 4, 10; Doc. 198 ¶¶ 4, 10.) Fulkerson was screaming and inconsolable throughout the 911 call despite the operator's best efforts to calm her down. (Doc. 203-14.) At this point, Fulkerson told the operator that Hamilton was unresponsive, and she thought he was dead. (Doc. 187 ¶¶ 11–12; Doc. 198 ¶¶ 11–12.) Fulkerson also described Hamilton as "getting stiff." (Doc. 203-14 at 4.)
At 5:32 A.M.—nine minutes after Fulkerson first called 911—two emergency medical response teams arrived separately to the house, one from the City and the other from the County. (Doc. 187 ¶¶ 16, 19.) The City team, which arrived at 5:32:22 A.M., consisted of three firefighters/EMTs: Jason Montgomery, Justin Riner, and Cory Hart. (Doc. 187 ¶ 15.) The County team, which arrived at 5:32:29 A.M., consisted of one paramedic, Emery Roberts,1 and one firefighter/EMT, Timothy Christensen. (Doc. 187 ¶¶ 16, 19.)2 At this point, the parties’ stories diverge.
According to Defendants, the City team (EMTs Montgomery, Riner, and Hart) arrived just before the County team (Paramedic Roberts and EMT Christensen) and entered the residence first. (Doc. 187 ¶¶ 19–20; Doc. 186-9 at 25.) A police officer reported that Fulkerson told him that night that she informed the EMTs upon arrival, "It's too late, he's dead," (Doc. 187 ¶ 14; Doc. 186–4 at 40; Doc. 203-61 at 35–36), although Fulkerson now admits making that statement only to the 911 operator, (Doc. 186–4 at 40). EMT Montgomery checked Hamilton's pulse and immediately started CPR. (Doc. 187 ¶ 20; Doc. 186-9 at 32.) When Paramedic Roberts3 arrived, he also checked Hamilton's carotid pulse. (Doc. 187 ¶ 21; Doc. 198 ¶ 21.) Then, as the Defendants tell it, the emergency teams moved Hamilton to a larger space and performed an EKG. (Doc. 187 ¶ 22; Doc. 186-9 at 47–48; Doc. 192-2 at 10–12, 26.) Paramedic Roberts, who was monitoring the EKG machine, declared Hamilton dead at 5:36 A.M. after reading the EKG results. (Doc. 187 ¶ 26; Doc. 198 ¶ 100; Doc. 186-9 at 71–72.) They did not provide additional resuscitation efforts after Roberts determined that any efforts were futile. According to them, there were no signs of life from the time the first EMTs arrived on the scene until Roberts declared him dead. (Doc. 187 ¶ 26.) In total, the City and County teams provided approximately four minutes of emergency care to Hamilton.
Plaintiffs tell a different story. As Fulkerson (Hamilton's mother) remembers it, Paramedic Roberts and EMT Christensen (the County team) entered the residence first; she does not ever remember seeing members from the City team in the residence at all. (Doc. 198 ¶¶ 97–98; Doc. 203-61 at 50, 56, 57.) At no time did Fulkerson observe any City or County emergency personnel attempt CPR on Hamilton. (Doc. 203-61 at 49.) Further, Fulkerson claims no EKG was ever performed and, after Paramedic Roberts declared Hamilton dead, no other life saving measures were attempted. (Doc. 203-61 at 49–51.) Fulkerson says she attempted to tell Paramedic Roberts that Hamilton "continued to mumble and try to speak," but he ignored her. (Doc. 198 ¶ 102; see also Doc. 203-61 at 47–48.) Instead, he rolled Hamilton over and told EMT Christensen that a dark area on Hamilton's back was lividity, even though Fulkerson told Paramedic Roberts that the dark area was a birth mark. (Doc. 198 ¶ 103; Doc. 203-61 at 47–48.)
After these events, Paramedic Roberts filled out a report documenting that Hamilton was cold and had signs of lividity and rigor mortis. (Doc. 198 ¶ 104; Doc. 203-5 at 4.) County medical personnel have testified that lividity and rigor mortis typically set in around one hour after death, meaning these assessments were probably incorrect. (Doc. 98 ¶ 106; Doc. 187 ¶ 79; Doc. 203-67 at 44–45, 79–80; Doc. 203-64 at 15–16; Doc. 203-36 at 3.) Dr. Stephen Nelson, a pathologist and medical examiner, performed an autopsy on Hamilton and determined that the cause of death was a heart attack and that his manner of death was natural. (Doc. 203-64 at 14, 16.) He also testified that he did not receive EKG strips for Hamilton, but that it is not typical for the medical examiner to receive EKG strips with the medical file when conducting the autopsy. (Doc. 203-64 at 13–14.)
After Hamilton's death, Fulkerson filed a complaint with Polk County in June 2014. (Doc. 203-61 at 71.) Groover, Hamilton's sister and representative of the estate, contacted multiple attorneys beginning in September 2014 to help her investigate the care given to her brother. (Doc. 187 ¶ 57; Doc. 198 ¶ 57.) By May 2015, Groover and Fulkerson had obtained documentation regarding the EMS care provided to Hamilton and the audio recording of the 911 call. (Doc. 187 ¶ 58; Doc. 198 ¶ 56.)
Groover filed a second complaint with the County in May 2015. (Doc. 193-1 at 9.) She also sent multiple emails to the County officials between May 2015 and September 2015 indicating that she believed negligence by the paramedic and EMTs caused her brother's...
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