Rayne v. Gannon
| Decision Date | 01 June 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:18-cv-00076-JPH-DML,1:18-cv-00076-JPH-DML |
| Parties | SARAH RAYNE, Plaintiff, v. WILLIAM GANNON in his individual capacity, et al. Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Indiana |
After being arrested on an open warrant, Sarah Rayne spent the weekend in jail. She consistently complained of pain, so several nurses examined her. The nurses were not authorized to diagnose patients or prescribe drugs, but they checked Ms. Rayne's vital signs, gave her ibuprofen for her pain, and scheduled her for an x-ray that Monday. On Monday, Ms. Rayne was transported from the jail to another custodial facility. A staff member there immediately called an ambulance to take her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with MRSA.
Ms. Rayne argues that Defendants provided unconstitutionally deficient medical care. All parties have moved for summary judgment. For reasons set forth below, Trooper Gannon's and Sheriff John Layton's motions for summary judgment are granted, dkt. [123]; dkt. [125], Ms. Rayne's motion for partial summary judgment is denied, dkt. [118], and the Medical Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part, dkt. [130].
The parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment, so the Court takes the motions "one at a time." American Family Mut. Ins. v. Williams, 832 F.3d 645, 648 (7th Cir. 2016). For each motion, the Court views and recites the evidence and draws all reasonable inferences "in favor of the non-moving party." Id.
On March 10, Trooper William Gannon found Ms. Rayne standing on the shoulder of the interstate, shoeless and crying. Dkt. 118-47 at 17:3-24, 19:10-16. Trooper Gannon invited Ms. Rayne to sit in the front passenger seat of his vehicle and started a conversation with her. Id. at 20:23-21:25. Trooper Gannon ran a license check and discovered that there was an open warrant for Ms. Rayne's arrest. Id. at 23:21-24:1. He then handcuffed her. Id. at 26:4-15.
On route to the Marion County Jail (the "Jail"), Ms. Rayne mentioned that her shoulder hurt. Id. at 27:18-22, 28:5-8, 29:5-12. Ms. Rayne was not wearing the shoulder immobilizer that she had been prescribed during a recent visit to the hospital. Dkt. 130-1 at 68:24-25. Trooper Gannon asked her several times if she needed an ambulance or wanted to go to the hospital, but she declined. Dkt. 118-47 at 30:1-31:7. He also asked her if she wanted him to handcuff her with two linked sets of handcuffs, but she declined that offer as well. Id. at 30:5-12. About fifteen minutes later they arrived at the Jail. Id. at 32:4-7, 42:6-44:7.
Trooper Gannon informed Jail staff that Ms. Rayne was complaining of shoulder pain and removed the handcuffs. Id. at 32:4-7, 42:6-44:7. The Jail had an agreement with Correct Care Solutions, LLC, to provide healthcare to inmates at the jail. See dkt. 118-48. Trooper Gannon left the Jail, knowing that the Jail had medical staff onsite for evaluating inmates. Id. at 32:4-7, 42:6-44:7.
Ms. Rayne was booked into the Jail around 4:00 p.m. Dkt. 118-4. On weekends, nurses provide medical services at the Jail. Dkt. 130-8, ¶ 2. Nurses are not authorized to diagnose patients or prescribe drugs; only doctors and nurse practitioners can do that. Dkt. 118-44 at 51:10-18. Doctors and nurse practitioners are on-call over weekends if the nurses believe additional guidance is needed to treat a patient. Dkt. 130-8, ¶ 2. Nurses have discretion in choosing whether to contact a physician or nurse practitioner regarding an inmate's treatment. See dkt. 118-44 at 102:15-20, 109:24-10:1-4; dkt. 118-45 at 48:8-14.
Over the next three days, Ms. Rayne was seen and examined by multiple nurses. See dkt. 130-6. Nurse Pierce called Dr. Buller to ask about Ms. Rayne's prescription for her kidney infection, dkt. 130-7, ¶¶ 4-5, and Nurse Jones called Nurse Practitioner Cheryl Petty to discuss Ms. Rayne's shoulder pain, dkt. 130-14, ¶ 3. No other nurse who saw Ms. Rayne sought assistance from a doctor or nurse who could diagnose Ms. Rayne or prescribe drugs. Seedkt. 130-7, ¶ 6; dkt. 130-9; ¶ 6; dkt. 130-10, ¶ 5; dkt. 130-11, ¶ 5; dkt. 130-12, ¶ 4; dkt. 130-14, ¶ 5; dkt. 130-15, ¶ 5.
The designated evidence related to each encounter between Ms. Rayne and a physician, nurse, or nurse practitioner is summarized below.
Around 5:00 p.m. on March 10—the day Ms. Rayne was booked into the Jail—Nurse Teresa Pierce assessed Ms. Rayne after she complained of chest pain. Dkt. 130-6 at 28; dkt. 130-7, ¶ 3.1 Nurse Pierce took Ms. Rayne's vital signs and checked her breathing. Dkt. 130-6 at 28; dkt. 130-7, ¶ 3. Ms. Rayne did not complain about shoulder pain during this encounter. Dkt. 130-6 at 28; dkt. 130-7, ¶ 3. Nurse Pierce noted that Ms. Rayne was on a prescription drug for a kidney infection, dkt. 130-6 at 29, and called Dr. Buller about Ms. Rayne's prescription for that condition, dkt. 130-7, ¶¶ 4-5. Dr. Buller ordered Ms. Rayne a new antibiotic for her kidney infection. Dkt. 130-6 at 21. Nurse Pierce did not observe any signs of an infection such as redness, swelling, an abscess, or elevated temperature. Dkt. 130-7, ¶ 4.
The next morning—Saturday, March 11—Nurse LaQuetta Hubbard assessed Ms. Rayne. Dkt. 130-6 at 1-5, 30-35. Ms. Rayne reported that she did not use drugs that were not prescribed by a physician. Id. at 31. She alsoreported that she had a history of heroin abuse, but that she had not gone through withdrawal since January of 2017. Id.
Nurse Hubbard noted that Ms. Rayne complained of pain in her right shoulder. Id. at 1. Ms. Rayne's vital signs were all within normal limits, and she did not have a fever. Id. at 3; dkt. 130-9, ¶ 3. Ms. Rayne's breathing and movement were normal, and there were no obvious lesions or draining wounds on her arms. Dkt. 130-9, ¶ 4. In response to Ms. Rayne's complaints about shoulder pain, Nurse Hubbard scheduled an x-ray to be performed on Monday, March 13. Id.; dkt. 130-6 at 40-41. Nurse Hubbard did not observe any signs of infection during either assessment. Dkt. 130-9, ¶ 4. Nurse Hubbard was not provided with any information about Ms. Rayne's complaints from Trooper Gannon. Dkt. 118-45 at 25:24-26:16.
Around 3:00 p.m. on March 11, Nurse Amber Allen assessed Ms. Rayne because she was holding her right arm and "crying out in pain." Dkt. 130-6 at 27. Nurse Allen took Ms. Rayne's vital signs, which were normal with a slightly elevated pulse. Id.; dkt. 130-10, ¶ 3. She gave Ms. Rayne ibuprofen and recommended that the next shift assess Ms. Rayne too. Dkt. 130-6 at 27. Nurse Allen saw no signs of infection such as redness, swelling, an abscess, or an elevated temperature. Dkt. 130-10, ¶ 3. Nurse Allen believed the shoulder pain was probably a "musculoskeletal problem" and the already-scheduled x-ray was the first step in diagnosing the problem. Id. The designated evidencedoes not indicate whether Nurse Allen reviewed the medical record entries from the nurses who had previously seen Ms. Rayne.
Around 7:30 p.m., Ms. Rayne was placed in the suicide-watch cell after she said that she was going to "start beating [her] arm on these bars and [she] might as well kill [herself]." Dkt. 118-13. Detention Deputy Madonna Edgemon helped Ms. Rayne remove her clothes because Ms. Rayne had stated that she could not remove them herself. Id. Deputy Edgmon requested that Ms. Rayne speak with mental health and be placed in suicide segregation. Id. Deputy Edgemon recorded this note in the Jail's Offender Management System ("OMS").
Less than an hour later, Nurse Brian Carter was helping a different patient when he noticed Ms. Rayne on the floor of her cell saying she needed to go to the hospital because of pain in her neck, shoulder, and chest. Dkt. 130-6 at 26. He evaluated Ms. Rayne and took her vital signs, all of which were normal. Id.; dkt. 130-11, ¶ 3. He saw no signs of infection or distress such as redness, swelling, an abscess, or an elevated temperature. Dkt. 130-11, ¶ 3. The designated evidence does not indicate whether Nurse Carter reviewed the medical record entries from the nurses who had previously seen Ms. Rayne, whether he knew that Ms. Rayne was unable to remove her clothes without help, or why Ms. Rayne was placed in the suicide watch-cell.
Shortly after Nurse Carter evaluated Ms. Rayne, Nurse Daniel Gebresilassie administered her prescription. Dkt. 130-6 at 24. Ms. Rayne complained of having right shoulder pain so Nurse Gebresilassie took her vital signs, which were again normal with a slightly elevated heart rate. Id. at 25. During this assessment, Ms. Rayne looked anxious and was "talking fast, kind of screaming," dkt. 118-52 at 72:4-6, but Nurse Gebresilassie saw no signs of infection, dkt. 130-12, ¶ 3. Nurse Gebresilassie checked Ms. Rayne's chart to confirm that she had not recently been given medication that would contradict the ibuprofen, gave Ms. Rayne ibuprofen, and noted that he would continue to monitor her. Dkt. 130-6 at 25; dkt. 130-13 at 11-12.
The next morning—Sunday, March 12—Nurse Cyrilene Jones was called to clean a wound on Ms. Rayne's head caused by her repeatedly bumping her head on the wall of her cell. Dkt. 118-43 at 49:3-15; dkt. 130-6 at 23. Nurse Jones also took Ms. Rayne's vital signs, which were normal. Dkt. 118-43 at 44:22-24; dkt. 130-6 at 23. During the assessment, Ms. Rayne complained of shoulder pain, so Nurse Jones examined the shoulder and found that it was slightly swollen. Dkt. 118-43 at 45:2-46:1; dkt. 130-6 at 23. Nurse Jones did not see any other signs of infection. Dkt. 130-14, ¶ 4.
Nurse Jones then reviewed Ms. Rayne's chart and noticed that sh...
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