Johnson v. Hardin County, Ky., s. 89-5948

• Decision Date: 20 July 1990
• Docket Number: 89-6137,Nos. 89-5948,s. 89-5948
• Citation: 908 F.2d 1280
• Parties: Edward L. JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. HARDIN COUNTY, KENTUCKY, Louis Lawson, and John Timbers, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 1280

908 F.2d 1280

Edward L. JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. HARDIN COUNTY, KENTUCKY, Louis Lawson, and John Timbers,

Defendants-Appellants.

Nos. 89-5948, 89-6137.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued May 3, 1990.

Decided and Filed July 20, 1990.

R. Allen McCartney (argued), Louisville, Ky., Charles W. Durham, Miller & Durham, Radcliff, Ky., for plaintiff-appellee.

W. Kenneth Nevitt, C. Thomas Hectus (argued), Williams & Wagoner, Louisville, Ky., for defendants-appellants.

Before KENNEDY and WELLFORD, Circuit Judges, and JOINER, Senior District Judge. ^*

KENNEDY, Circuit Judge.

Hardin County, Kentucky, Louis Lawson, in his official capacity as Jailer, and John Timbers, in his official capacity as Major of the jail, appeal a judgment in favor of Edward L. Johnson, a former prisoner incarcerated in the Hardin County Detention Center. Johnson brought suit under 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1983 and 1985 and the eighth and fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution. The substance of Johnson's complaint was that while incarcerated and during his recovery from injuries suffered during his incarceration, the defendants deprived him of shower facilities or a wash bowl to clean himself for 40 days, failed to provide him with extra blankets and pillows to elevate and warm his injured legs, and deprived him of medication and crutches prescribed by his treating physician. The District Court denied motions by the defendants for a directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Following a two-day trial, the jury returned verdicts for the plaintiff, $15,000 against the county, and $1,000 each against Lawson and Timbers. The jury found in favor of the other five defendants, a result that has not been appealed. The District Court also awarded Johnson $20,173.61 in attorney's fees and expenses pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1988. In reaching this figure the court applied a 1.5 multiplier to the lodestar figure. The defendants assert that there was insufficient evidence to support a jury finding of deliberate indifference to Johnson's medical condition. The county additionally asserts that Johnson produced no evidence of a county policy that caused his injury. All three defendants challenge the District Court's use of a multiplier when calculating attorney's fees. For the reasons stated below, we REVERSE and REMAND the case for further proceedings.

I. Facts

Eleven years prior to his incarceration in the Hardin, Kentucky, County Jail, Johnson was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in which he sustained compound fractures to both legs. He never fully recovered from these injuries and, at the time of his incarceration, needed a cane to walk when he became very tired or when the weather changed. Johnson had been found 100% disabled by the Social Security Administration prior to his incarceration. Johnson relayed these facts to Major John Timbers when he arrived at the facility. He also asked Timbers for a cane to relieve the stress on his legs and a small cell to reduce his need to move around. Neither of these requests was granted.

Johnson was assigned to a large cell block containing bunk beds. He requested a lower bunk in the cell, but because all the lower bunks were already occupied, his requests were denied. Major Timbers testified that the prison generally did not make specific bunk assignments but allowed prisoners to choose among the available bunks in their assigned cell. Johnson was forced to take an upper bunk some five feet off the ground. The bunks themselves had no ladders and Johnson had to climb up the bars to get in his bunk.

On the morning of September 20, 1987, Johnson was exiting the shower and tripped over the shower drain. He fell down from the shower, which was elevated about two feet, to the floor below, and was unable to get up. Prison authorities were called immediately, but because of delays in getting the keys to the cell block, it was some 20 to 30 minutes before Johnson was transported to Hardin County Memorial Hospital for medical care.

Johnson was treated by Dr. Karl W. Hubbard. After taking x-rays, Hubbard diagnosed Johnson as suffering from strain in the right knee or possible aggravation of his preexisting arthritic condition. Hubbard also felt that Johnson may have sustained hairline bone fractures in his legs that were not revealed by the x-rays. Hubbard placed Johnson's right leg in a full length fiberglass cast until October 15. Hubbard told Johnson to elevate and keep his weight off his right leg and to use crutches to increase circulation. He prescribed Tylenol 3 every four hours for Johnson's pain. Hubbard gave a written copy of these instructions and the prescription to Officers Parks and Murdock, who escorted Johnson to the hospital. The officers testified that they gave a copy of the instructions to Major Timbers, who made it a part of Johnson's medical file.

Johnson returned to the hospital on October 5 and again on October 15. No treatment was administered on the first of these two visits, but on the second visit, Hubbard removed the cast on Johnson's right leg and placed his leg in a removable knee immobilizer. Additionally, he placed a fiberglass cast on Johnson's left leg to treat a newly discovered hairline fracture. Both the immobilizer and the new cast remained until December 28, 1987, when both were removed. Throughout this time, Johnson was advised to continue to use crutches, to keep the weight off his left knee and to place weight on the right knee only as it could be tolerated in the immobilizer.

After his emergency care on September 20, Johnson was placed in a small single cell containing a bed, sink, and toilet but no shower. Despite both the doctor's instructions and numerous requests by Johnson, including requests made to Lawson and Timbers, Johnson was not provided with crutches for walking, with material to elevate his legs, or with extra blankets to keep his legs warm. Johnson never received the extra bedding material and was forced to roll up his bed mattress to provide some elevation for his legs. He only received crutches when he was moved to a four person cell on October 30. Lawson acknowledged having read the doctor's instructions but testified that he nonetheless made a decision not to give crutches to Johnson. Lawson explained his decision by stating that he interpreted the instructions to mean that authorities should force Johnson to stay off his feet as much as possible. He also felt that Johnson could not easily use crutches in the smaller cell. He admitted that he never contacted medical personnel to see if his decision was correct. Lawson testified that when Johnson needed to move around the cell to get to the toilet or sink, he could crawl along the bed or hang on to the bars without using crutches. Johnson testified that he was unable to effectively move about the cell in this fashion.

Johnson also testified that numerous prison officials, including Lawson and Timbers, denied his requests for access to the shower facilities and a plastic bag to cover his cast in the shower or for a washbowl and cloth towel so he could wash in his cell. Johnson also complained that officials did not promptly comply with his request for an inflatable ring to prevent bed sores. Although the defendants testified that Johnson never smelled or otherwise appeared to be dirty, Johnson himself testified to the contrary and explained that despite repeated complaints, he was forced to go without a shower for almost 40 days. Johnson was only able to shower then because he was moved to a four-person cell and another prisoner obtained a plastic bag from guards to cover Johnson's cast and a crate allowing Johnson to sit down while showering.

Johnson's final complaint is that he often did not receive the pain relief and other medication prescribed to him. Although Johnson admitted that he usually received some medication every day, he testified that he often failed to receive all of the daily doses of his pain medication. According to Johnson, the guard who distributed medication would often throw the medication into the cell where it would roll out of his reach. At other times, the guard ran out of medication before he reached Johnson, possibly because the medication was incorrectly given to other prisoners. Finally, Johnson testified that the guards refused to provide him with additional medication between the four scheduled rounds made every six hours. As a result, Johnson testified that he suffered a great deal of unnecessary pain. Although the defendants produced evidence that Johnson's signature was on file for having received medication more than 800 times during his incarceration, there was also testimony from which reasonable jurors could conclude that many of the signatures were forged.

Throughout this period, Louis Lawson was the elected Jailer of the Hardin County Detention Center. As Jailer, he was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the prison. He testified that he occasionally spoke to Johnson about his medical problems and made the decision himself not to immediately provide Johnson with crutches. John Timbers was Lawson's chief assistant during Johnson's incarceration. He also saw Johnson regularly during Johnson's incarceration. Johnson testified that he made his requests for crutches, a shower, additional medication, and additional bedding to both men. Although Lawson and Timbers denied that Johnson made any complaints about his treatment, a jury could reasonably reject their testimony.

II. Deliberate Indifference

In reviewing a district court's failure to grant summary judgment, a directed verdict, or judgment notwithstanding the verdict on grounds of insufficiency of the evidence, we must decide whether the evidence is "so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2512, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In examining the...