Ferguson v. Mindoro, MD et al

Filing 6

ORDER OF DISMISSAL. Signed by Judge Jon S. Tigar on April 5, 2017. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service) (wsn, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/5/2017)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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GEORGE EDWARD FERGUSON,
Plaintiff,

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S. STEINHAUS, et al.,
Defendants.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

v.

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Case No. 16-cv-06417-JST (PR)

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INTRODUCTION

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Plaintiff, a California prisoner incarcerated at the Correctional Training Facility (CTF),

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filed this pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging claims for deliberate

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indifference to serious medical needs against two CTF doctors. The Court identified various

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deficiencies in plaintiff’s complaint and dismissed it with leave to amend. Plaintiff has filed an

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amended complaint (FAC), in which he no longer names the doctor defendants but instead names

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two CTF nurses as defendants. The FAC is now before the Court for review under 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915A.

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BACKGROUND

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The following allegations are taken from the FAC:

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On November 5, 2015, while in class, plaintiff began experiencing severe abdominal pain

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and vomiting. His instructor directed him to return to his housing unit. His housing unit floor

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officer then directed plaintiff to report to Central Medical. Defendant Nurse Steinhaus attended to

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plaintiff and conducted a physical plan. Nurse Steinhaus then consulted with CTF Dr. Mindoro by

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telephone. Dr. Mindoro ordered a gastrointestinal (GI) cocktail and instructed plaintiff to drink

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extra fluids, consume light chicken soup, and place a sick call request if symptoms did not resolve

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by the next morning.

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Plaintiff’s abdominal pain continued for two more days. On November 7, 2015, he

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returned to Central Medical, where he was examined by defendant Nurse Mandich. Nurse

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Mandich consulted with CTF Dr. Branch by telephone. Plaintiff was again given a GI cocktail

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along with intravenous fluids for dehydration and medication for his diarrhea.
On November 9, 2015, plaintiff returned to Central Medical where he was examined by

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CTF Dr. Sweet. Dr. Sweet ordered x-rays, which showed gallstones. Plaintiff was transported to

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Natividad Medical Center for surgery.
DISCUSSION

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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A.

Standard of Review
A federal court must conduct a preliminary screening in any case in which a prisoner seeks

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redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28

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U.S.C. § 1915A(a). In its review, the court must identify any cognizable claims and dismiss any

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claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or seek

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monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),

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(2). Pro se pleadings must, however, be liberally construed. See Balistreri v. Pacifica Police

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Dep’t., 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1988).

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the

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claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” “Specific facts are not necessary; the

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statement need only “ ‘give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon

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which it rests.’ ” Erickson v. Pardus, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 2200 (2007) (citations omitted). Although

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in order to state a claim a complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations, . . . a plaintiff’s

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obligation to provide the grounds of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ requires more than labels and

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conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. . . .

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Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell

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Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S. Ct. 1955, 1964-65 (2007) (citations omitted). A complaint

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must proffer “enough facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 1974.

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To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two essential elements:
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(1) that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2) that

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the alleged violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. See West v.

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Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988).

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B.

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Legal Claims
Plaintiff alleges that Nurses Steinhaus and Mandich acted with deliberate indifference to

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his serious medical needs by failing to fully report plaintiff’s symptoms over the telephone to

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Doctors Mindoro and Branch. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that Nurse Steinhaus described

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plaintiff’s condition as nausea and vomiting but failed to report plaintiff’s abdominal pain.

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Plaintiff similarly alleges that Nurse Mandich “omitted to report her observation of very tender
and painful abdominal condition.” FAC at 7. This allegation is contradicted by Nurse Mandich’s

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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“encounter form,” in which she noted that plaintiff had “moderate or severe abdominal pain” as

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well as “moderate . . . tenderness on palpation.” FAC at 21. Even accepting Plaintiff’s allegations

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as true, however, the FAC fails to show that Nurses Steinhaus and Mandich acted with the

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necessary mental state for deliberate indifference.

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Deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s serious medical needs amounts to the cruel and

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unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104

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(1976); Toguchi v. Chung, 391 F.3d 1051, 1057 (9th Cir. 2004); McGuckin v. Smith, 974 F.2d

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1050, 1059 (9th Cir. 1992), overruled on other grounds by WMX Technologies, Inc. v. Miller, 104

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F.3d 1133, 1136 (9th Cir. 1997) (en banc). A prison official violates the Eighth Amendment only

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when two requirements are met: (1) the deprivation alleged is, objectively, sufficiently serious,

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and (2) the official is, subjectively, deliberately indifferent to the inmate’s health or safety.

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Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 834 (1994).

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Neither negligence nor gross negligence warrant liability under the Eighth Amendment.

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Id. at 835-36 & n4. An “official’s failure to alleviate a significant risk that he should have

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perceived but did not, . . . cannot under our cases be condemned as the infliction of punishment.”

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Id. at 838. Instead, “the official’s conduct must have been ‘wanton,’ which turns not upon its

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effect on the prisoner, but rather, upon the constraints facing the official.” Frost v. Agnos, 152

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F.3d 1124, 1128 (9th Cir. 1998) (citing Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 302-03 (1991)). Prison
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officials violate their constitutional obligation only by “intentionally denying or delaying access to

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medical care.” Estelle, 429 U.S. at 104-05. A defendant is deliberately indifferent if he knows

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that a prisoner faces a substantial risk of serious harm and disregards that risk by failing to take

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reasonable steps to abate it. Farmer, 511 U.S. at 837. The defendant must not only “be aware of

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facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists,” but

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he “must also draw the inference.” Id.
Here, plaintiff admits that Nurses Steinhaus and Mandich physically examined him and

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obtained medications and other treatment from CTF doctors commensurate with his symptoms.

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He does not allege that the defendant nurses failed to treat him, but only that they downplayed or

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failed to report one of his symptoms when reporting to the CTF doctors. Nothing in the amended

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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complaint or attached exhibits shows that plaintiff received treatment that was “medically

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unacceptable under the circumstances” and that defendants embarked on a course of treatment “in

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conscious disregard of an excessive risk to [plaintiff’s] health.” See Toguchi, 391 F.3d at 1058

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(citations omitted). Plaintiff describes actions that might constitute at worst negligence or gross

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negligence, neither of which constitutes deliberate indifference. See Farmer, 511 U.S. at 835-36

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& n.4.
CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons, this case is DISMISSED. Dismissal is without leave to amend

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because plaintiff has been given an opportunity to amend and it appears that further amendment

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would be futile. However, dismissal is without prejudice to plaintiff pursuing in state court any

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claims he may have under state law. The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of defendants, and

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close the file.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 5, 2017

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JON S. TIGAR
United States District Judge

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