Watson v. Smith
| Decision Date | 27 November 2018 |
| Docket Number | 5:18-cv-142-FDW |
| Parties | EARL JAMES WATSON, Plaintiff, v. PAULA SMITH, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina |
THIS MATTER is before the Court on initial review of Plaintiff's Complaint, (Doc. No. 1). He is proceeding in forma pauperis, (Doc. Nos. 6). Also pending is a Motion to Appoint Counsel, (Doc. No. 3).
Pro se Plaintiff has filed a civil rights suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 while incarcerated at the Albemarle Correctional Institution. The Complaint addresses events that allegedly occurred at the Catawba Valley Medical Center ("CVMC"), Alexander C.I., Central Prison, and Albemarle C.I. He names as Defendants: Director of Medical Services for North Carolina Department of Public Safety ("NC DPS") Paula Smith; Albemarle C.I. Administrator Jack Clelland; Albemarle C.I. Assistant Superintendent of Custody/Operations Kenneth Diggs; Albemarle C.I. Assistant Superintendent of Programs William Glick; Albemarle C.I. Assistant Superintendent of Custody/Operations Lawrence Parsons; Albemarle C.I. Medical Doctor Leonard F. Polanco; Albemarle C.I. Nurse Practitioner Stephanie Brathwaite; Albemarle C.I. Nurse April Foreman; Albemarle C.I. Correctional Officer Rhonda Morton; Albemarle C.I. Lieutenant FNU Brewton; Albemarle C.I. Lieutenant FNU Randle; Albemarle C.I. Unit Manager FNU Bowden; Albemarle C.I. Sergeant FNU Murphy; Albemarle C.I. Correctional Officer FNU Frick; Albemarle C.I. Nurse FNU Mundle; CVMC Director Eddie Beard; CVMC Nurse Jane Doe; CVMC Nurse Jane Doe 2; Carolina Orthopedic Specialists1 Director Sean McNally; Carolina Orthopedic Specialists Surgeon Alfred E. Geissele; Carolina Orthopedic Specialists Nurse Practitioner Steve McFarland; CVMC Anesthesiologist Frank E. Rinaldo, Jr.; Alexander C.I. Medical Doctor Marta M. Kalinski; Alexander C.I. Medical Doctor FNU Quinn; Alexander C.I. Medical Doctor FNU Chung; Alexander C.I. Physical Therapist FNU Ford; Alexander C.I. Correctional Officer John Doe; and Alexander C.I. Correctional Officer Jane Doe.
Construing the Complaint liberally and accepting the allegations as true, Defendants Frick and Morton transported Plaintiff to CVMC on September 23, 2015, for scheduled back surgery. They arrived late and, as a result, Plaintiff's surgery was delayed until the end of the day. Plaintiff told Frick and Morton that he "felt like he was on death row waiting to go to his execution." (Doc. No. 1 at 12-13). Nurses looked at Plaintiff's tattoo during preoperative procedures. Before surgery, Nurse Jane Doe 1 gave Plaintiff medication ordered by Defendant McFarland. (Doc. No. 1 at 13). At 5:00 PM, Plaintiff was pushed into what appeared to be a laundry room while Jane Doe 1 led Frick and Morton away, leaving Plaintiff unattended by prison staff in violation of NC DPS policy. While Defendant Rinaldo stood beside Plaintiff, Defendant McFarland grabbed Plaintiff's head and struck Plaintiff's chin with a blunt metal object. Plaintiff was unable to defend himself or call for help because of the medication he had been given. Nurse Jane Doe 2 called out "Steve!?!" (Doc. No. 1 at 14). Defendant McFarland pinned Plaintiff's arms back and pinned Plaintiff's head to his chest, causing excruciating pain in Plaintiff's upper back, neck, and chest. McFarland speculated that Plaintiff's tattoo was a memorial to women he had raped, said he was going to "fix" Plaintiff "so we don't ever have to worry about that again," and told Plaintiff that his surgical scar would not be as small as promised. (Doc. No. 1 at 14). Rinaldo pulled Plaintiff's leg shackles with all his might and repeatedly drove his elbow into Plaintiff's left knee. Rinaldo pressed his fingers into Plaintiff's scrotum, flipped him over, and pushed his fingers into Plaintiff's anus which damaged his prostate and left him impotent. Plaintiff felt a dull metal object about an inch in diameter hitting his feet, ankles, lower legs, and knees, which left permanent blue marks on them. Plaintiff was in excruciating pain and lost consciousness.
Plaintiff regained consciousness after surgery when he was wheeled to a hospital room. Defendants Frick and Morton had already left the hospital and Plaintiff was afraid for his life. He immediately complained to CVMC nurses and NC DPS officers John and Jane Doe about the excruciating pain throughout his body. He was given oxycodone for pain. Defendant Geissele discharged Plaintiff from CVMC on September 25, 2015, with medical restrictions on lifting, bending, and twisting, and orders that Plaintiff be housed in an infirmary rather than the general population and that he return for a follow-up in two weeks. Plaintiff was transported back to Alexander C.I. in handcuffs, waist chain, and leg shackles in a car which caused him excruciating pain.
When Plaintiff arrived at Alexander C.I. after surgery, Plaintiff told Defendants Kalinski and Quinn about his injuries and pain. Kalinski felt the lump on Plaintiff's chin and he told her that he lost rectal and bladder control. She offered him diapers.
On September 29, 2015, Plaintiff told Defendant Ford, a PREA contact, that he would like to talk to him. They met a few days later and Plaintiff told Ford about the September 23 assaults in detail, but Ford did not report them.
On October 2, 2015, the infirmary nurse let Plaintiff's pain medication run out which left him to suffer excruciating pain until it was renewed after October 5, 2015.
On October 6, 2015, Plaintiff was transported for his two-week checkup. When he realized he would see McFarland he asked NC DPS officers not to leave him alone. Plaintiff showed McFarland the blue chain-like marks on his feet, the lump on his chin, and his pain and injuries. McFarland said "you haven't been under my care, I don't know what happened to you." (Doc. No. 1 at 20). McFarland ordered the continuation of Plaintiff's pain medication and ordered six additional weeks in the infirmary and another follow-up in six weeks.
Plaintiff's parents called CVMC, Alexander C.I., and Raleigh for weeks beginning on or about October 9, 2015, to get accurate information about what happened to Plaintiff and his condition. They were given the run-around and were hung up on when they asked about Plaintiff's allegations.
On October 10, 2015, Plaintiff requested sick call to speak with someone in mental health about the September 23 assault.
Defendant Chung closed the infirmary at Alexander C.I. on October 13, 2015. "[U]pon information and belief ... Defendant Chung ... did not want to care for inmates in the infirmary" and closed the infirmary at Alexander C.I. because of Plaintiff's parents' phone calls, Plaintiff told Ford about the assaults, and Plaintiff requested mental health. (Doc. No. 1 at 21-22). According to the nurses in the infirmary, the infirmary did not need to close "because an emergency response was set up with CVMC." (Doc. No. 1 at 22).
Plaintiff was transferred from Alexander C.I. to Central Prison on October 13, 2015, by two Alexander C.I. officials in a van, which caused excruciating pain during the three-hour trip. (Doc. No. 1 at 28). Upon arriving at Central Prison's ER, none of the staff knew who Plaintiff was, where he had come from, or why he was sent there. He was placed in a 23-hour holding cell without access or visitation. A doctor eventually saw Plaintiff that night and cut his pain medication from 10 mg every four hours to 5 mg every six hours. On October 15, 2015, a doctor ordered that Plaintiff be kept out of general population for the next 21 days (12 days less than McFarland had ordered). Plaintiff's pain level was 9 out of 10 so the doctor raised the pain medication to 5 mg every four hours. On October 21, 2015, Central Prison officials discharged Plaintiff from the hospital and attempted to release him into general population. Plaintiff explained his need for infirmary housing and the use of the walker and he was allowed to remain in the 23-hour holding cell. Plaintiff was told to pack up on October 26, 2015, because Plaintiff was going back where he came from.
However, instead of returning to Alexander C.I., Plaintiff was sent to Albemarle C.I. in a bus, which caused him excruciating pain. Upon arriving at Albemarle C.I., officers had to lift Plaintiff by his arms to get him off the bus which caused excruciating pain. Plaintiff immediately informed Defendants Brewton, Murphy, and Mundle that doctor's orders stated he was supposed to be out of the general population and in the infirmary and that he was in a lot of pain. Plaintiff was placed in the general population based on his "acuity level" change from level 4 to 2 even though he was still supposed to be in an infirmary; Defendant Mundle told Plaintiff there was nothing that could be done about it. (Doc. No. 1 at 30). Plaintiff's requests for help and pleas about pain were ignored and he was placed in the general population. Plaintiff went to the window for pain medication on October 26, 2015, and Nurse Goins was "rude and hateful" when Plaintiff asked for his pain medication. (Doc. No. 1 at 34). She said "you have done gobbled up thirty pills you don't have nothing to take" and she refused to give him Tylenol or anything. (Doc. No. 1 at 34). Plaintiff was unable to sleep due to pain throughout his body that night and on many other nights.
Plaintiff was initially assigned to a housing unit that has handicapped facilities but he was moved to Badin Unit after speaking to Mundle. Plaintiff immediately put in a sick call about the improper change in his health level from 4 to 2.
On October 30, 2015, Nurse Witaker found the October 15 doctor's order about keeping Plaintiff in the infirmary rather than general population. Witaker informed Randle, who placed Plaintiff in segregation. Plaintiff explained that segregation is not the same as an infirmary and said that he wanted to go to either Salisbury or Alexander C.I. Randle said he could not do...
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