Crawford v. Ho et al

Filing 7

ORDER DISMISSING Complaint, WITH LEAVE TO AMEND, for Failure to State a Cognizable Claim Upon Which Relief May Be Granted Under Section 1983 1 , signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 6/16/14: Thirty (30) Day Deadline. (Attachments: # 1 Amended Complaint - blank form)(Hellings, J)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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GARY LYN CRAWFORD,

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Plaintiff,
v.
OFFICER PHIPPS, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No.: 1:14-cv-00368-SAB (PC)
ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT, WITH
LEAVE TO AMEND, FOR FAILURE TO STATE
A COGNIZABLE CLAIM UPON WHICH RELIEF
MAY BE GRANTED UNDER SECTION 1983
[ECF No. 1]

Plaintiff Gary Lyn Crawford is a pretrial detainee appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in

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this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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I.

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SCREENING REQUIREMENT

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The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a

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governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The

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Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally

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“frivolous or malicious,” that “fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted,” or that “seeks

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monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).

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A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is

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entitled to relief. . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but

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“[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements,
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do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly,

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550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Plaintiff must demonstrate that each named defendant personally

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participated in the deprivation of his rights. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676-677; Simmons v. Navajo County,

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Ariz., 609 F.3d 1011, 1020-1021 (9th Cir. 2010).

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Prisoners proceeding pro se in civil rights actions are still entitled to have their pleadings

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liberally construed and to have any doubt resolved in their favor, but the pleading standard is now

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higher, Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 2012) (citations omitted), and to survive

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screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be facially plausible, which requires sufficient factual detail to allow

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the Court to reasonably infer that each named defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal,

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556 U.S. at 678-79; Moss v. U.S. Secret Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The “sheer

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possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully” is not sufficient, and “facts that are ‘merely

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consistent with’ a defendant’s liability” falls short of satisfying the plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556

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U.S. at 678; Moss, 572 F.3d at 969.

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II.

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COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS

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On September 24, 2013, while Plaintiff was being transported to Court by the Stanislaus

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County jail personnel, officer Phipps made a sudden stop on the freeway causing motorist, Guiang, to

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rear-end the van. Plaintiff received a one and one-half inch laceration on his forehead. Officer Ruiz

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and Phipps observed the laceration on Plaintiff’s forehead but left the scene. Upon Plaintiff’s arrival

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to the Stanislaus County jail, Dr. Andrew Ho applied two butterfly sutures to the laceration. It took 32

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days and a CT scan and MRI before Plaintiff was prescribed Vicodin and Neurotin for his neck pain.

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III.

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DISCUSSION

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A.

Deliberate Indifference to Serious Medical Need

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As a pretrial detainee, Plaintiff is protected from conditions of confinement which amount to

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punishment. Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535-36, 99 S.Ct. 1861 (1979); Simmons v. Navajo

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County, Ariz., 609 F.3d 1011, 1017-18 (9th Cir. 2010); Clouthier v. County of Contra Costa, 591 F.3d

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1232, 1244 (9th Cir. 2010). While pretrial detainees’ rights are protected under the Due Process
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Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the standard for claims brought under the Eighth Amendment

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has long been used to analyze pretrial detainees’ conditions of confinement claims. Simmons, 609

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F.3d at 1017-18; Clouthier, 591 F.3d at 1242; Frost v. Agnos, 152 F.3d 1124, 1128 (9th Cir. 1998).

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While the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution entitles Plaintiff to medical

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care, the Eighth Amendment is violated only when a prison official acts with deliberate indifference to

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an inmate’s serious medical needs. Snow v. McDaniel, 681 F.3d 978, 985 (9th Cir. 2012); Wilhelm v.

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Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1122 (9th Cir. 2012); Jett v. Penner, 439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 2006).

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Plaintiff “must show (1) a serious medical need by demonstrating that failure to treat [his] condition

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could result in further significant injury or the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain,” and (2) that

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“the defendant’s response to the need was deliberately indifferent.” Wilhelm, 680 F.3d at 1122 (citing

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Jett, 439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 2006)). Deliberate indifference is shown by “(a) a purposeful act

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or failure to respond to a prisoner’s pain or possible medical need, and (b) harm caused by the

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indifference.” Wilhelm, 680 F.3d at 1122 (citing Jett, 439 F.3d at 1096). The requisite state of mind

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is one of subjective recklessness, which entails more than ordinary lack of due care. Snow, 681 F.3d

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at 985 (citation and quotation marks omitted); Wilhelm, 680 F.3d at 1122.
Even if it is assumed that the one and one-half inch laceration to Plaintiff’s forehead presents a

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serious medical condition under the first prong of medical indifference, Plaintiff has failed to

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demonstrate deliberate indifference on the part of any Defendant. Plaintiff’s own allegations

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demonstrate that he was treated by Dr. Andrew Ho who applied two sutures to Plaintiff’s forehead.

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While Defendants Phipps and Ruiz may have viewed Plaintiff’s laceration there is no factual

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allegations to support a finding that either of them acted with deliberate indifference as Plaintiff was

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subsequently treated by Dr. Ho. A finding of deliberate indifference requires a “purposeful act or

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failure to act on the part of the defendant” in response to the inmate’s pain or medical need. Estelle v.

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Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 105-106 (1976). There is simply no factual support to find that either Defendant

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refused and/or prevented Plaintiff from receiving medical care or denied Plaintiff medical care they

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believed Plaintiff needed.

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In addition, the fact that it took 32 days for Plaintiff to receive certain pain medical fails to

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demonstrate deliberate indifference on the part of Dr. Ho. Plaintiff has no federal right to his desired

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treatment and medication. Plaintiff provides no facts that any alleged delay was caused by Dr. Ho or

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that Dr. HO was indifferent to his needs. Cf., Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d at 1123 (doctor’s

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awareness of need for treatment followed by his unnecessary delay in implementing the prescribed

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treatment sufficient to plead deliberate indifference). Plaintiff does not claim that Dr. Ho was aware

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of any delay and of any risk associated with such delay and refused to act. Furthermore, even if Dr.

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Ho was negligent, which the Court does not find, mere negligence or medical malpractice does not

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support a claim for deliberate indifference. Broughton v. Cutter Laboratories, 622 F.2d 458, 460 (9th

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Cir. 1980). Accordingly, Plaintiff fails to state a claim for deliberate indifference to a serious medical

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need, and the claim must be dismissed with leave to amend.

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B.

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Plaintiff names Guiang as a Defendant in this action. Private individuals, such as Guiang, are

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generally not subject to liability 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Van Ort v. Estate of Stanewich, 92 F.3d 831, 835

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(9th Cir. 1996). In order for a private individual to be liable for a section 1983 violation when a state

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actor commits the challenged conduct, the plaintiff must establish that the private individual was the

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proximate cause of the violations. Franklin v. Fox, 312 F.3d 423, 445-446 (9th Cir. 2002) (citing King

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v. Massarweh, 782 F.2d 825, 829 (9th Cir. 1986). “Absent some showing that a private party had

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some control over state officials’ decision to commit the challenged act, the private party did not

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proximately cause the injuries stemming from the act.” Id. at 446 (quoting Massarweh, 782 F.2d at

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829 (internal quotation omitted).

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Private Individual Liability Under Section 1983

There is absolutely no showing that Guiang had any control over the officer’s actions and he

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could not have proximately caused the injuries stemming from the accident. Accordingly, Defendant

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Guiang must be dismissed from the action without leave to amend.

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IV.

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CONCLUSION AND ORDER

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For the reasons stated, Plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be

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granted. Plaintiff is granted leave to file an amended complaint within thirty (30) days. Noll v.
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Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1448-49 (9th Cir. 1987). Plaintiff may not change the nature of this suit by

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adding new, unrelated claims in his amended complaint. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir.

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2007) (no “buckshot” complaints).

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Plaintiff’s amended complaint should be brief, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a), but must state what each

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named defendant did that led to the deprivation of Plaintiff’s constitutional or other federal rights.

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Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678. “The inquiry into causation must be individualized and focus on the duties

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and responsibilities of each individual defendant whose acts or omissions are alleged to have caused a

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constitutional deprivation.” Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 633 (9th Cir. 1988). Although accepted as

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true, the “[f]actual allegations must be [sufficient] to raise a right to relief above the speculative level .

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. .” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (citations omitted).

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Finally, an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint, Forsyth v. Humana, Inc.,

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114 F.3d 1467, 1474 (9th Cir. 1997); King v. Atiyeh, 814 F.2d 565, 567 (9th Cir. 1987), and must be

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“complete in itself without reference to the prior or superseded pleading,” Local Rule 220. “All

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causes of action alleged in an original complaint which are not alleged in an amended complaint are

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waived.” King, 814 F.2d at 567 (citing to London v. Coopers & Lybrand, 644 F.2d 811, 814 (9th Cir.

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1981)); accord Forsyth, 114 F.3d at 1474.

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Based on the foregoing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1.

The Clerk’s Office shall send Plaintiff a civil rights complaint form;

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2.

Plaintiff’s complaint, filed March 17, 2014, is dismissed for failure to state a claim;

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3.

Within thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order, Plaintiff shall file an
amended complaint; and

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4.

If Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint in compliance with this order, this action
will be dismissed, with prejudice, for failure to state a claim.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

June 16, 2014
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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