Baker v. Shelly et al

Filing 19

ORDER dismissing without prejudice Plaintiff's 16 Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim. Plaintiff may file a second amended complaint within 21 days. Otherwise, the Court will enter judgment and close this case without further notice. Signed by Judge John E. Steele on 1/3/2025. (FMB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
MIRA BAKER,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No:

2:23-cv-659-JES-KCD

CENTURION OF FLORIDA L.L.C.
and COLLIER COUNTY JAIL,
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on Mira Baker’s Amended
Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights (Doc. #16).

The Court

dismissed Baker’s original complaint for failure to prosecute.
After Baker explained his failure to timely pay the filing fee,
the Court reopened the case but dismissed the claims against all
defendants except Dr. Emanuel Noel.

Baker’s Amended Complaint

drops Noel as a defendant and instead asserts Eighth Amendment
claims against Centurion of Florida and Collier County Jail.

The

Court reviews Baker’s Amended Complaint to determine if it is
frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief
may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is
immune from such relief.

28 U.S.C. § 1915A.

Baker is a prisoner of the Florida Department of Corrections
(“FDOC”).

Before that, he was detained at Collier County Jail.

Centurion provided medical treatment to inmates of the jail.

Baker

suffers

from

hypertension,

and

he

alleges

Centurion

prescribed a medication “that had been removed from the shelf by
the FDA ten years prior.”

(Doc. #16 at 14).

Baker complained of

sores and discoloration on his body, and he was treated with
ointment and Ibuprofen.
When Baker’s arms and legs began to swell, the defendants set
up appointments with several outside specialists, who determined
Baker

was

experiencing

medication.

side

effects

from

the

hypertension

The defendants did not change Baker’s medication.

Baker continued experiencing side effects after being transferred
to FDOC custody, and he began to feel a large mass in his chest.
Like

Baker’s

Correctional

previous

medical

Institution

providers,

treated

Baker

Dr.
with

Noel

at

DeSoto

Ibuprofen

and

ointment.
Baker sues Centurion and Collier County Jail under 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983.
the

To state a § 1983 claim, a plaintiff must allege that (1)

defendant

deprived

him

of

a

right

secured

under

the

Constitution or federal law, and (2) the deprivation occurred under
color of state law.

Bingham v. Thomas, 654 F.3d 1171, 1175 (11th

Cir. 2011) (citing Arrington v. Cobb Cnty., 139 F.3d 865, 872 (11th
Cir. 1998)).

In addition, a plaintiff must allege and establish

an affirmative causal connection between the defendant’s conduct
and the constitutional deprivation.
268

F.3d

1014,

1059

(11th

Cir.

- 2 -

Marsh v. Butler Cnty., Ala.,
2001).

Because

Baker

sues

municipalities, 1 he must also show that the constitutional harm is
the result of a custom or policy.

Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Sec.

Servs. of the Cty. of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (1978).
Baker

accuses

the

defendants

of

violating

his

Eighth

Amendment rights by prescribing a medication with known side
effects.

But Baker’s claims fail on multiple levels.

To start,

it is not plausible that the defendants prescribed the hypertension
medication.

Presumably,

a

medical

Centurion prescribed the drug.

professional

working

for

But a municipality is not liable

under § 1983 merely because it employed a tortfeasor.

See id.

Baker fails to establish municipal liability under Monell because
he does not identify a custom or practice of either defendant that
caused his injury.
Even if Baker sued the medical professional who prescribed
the drug at issue, his allegations do not support an Eighth
Amendment

claim.

In

Estelle

v.

Gamble,

the

Supreme

Court

established that “deliberate indifference to serious medical needs
of prisoners constitutes the ‘unnecessary and wanton infliction of
pain,’ proscribed by the Eighth Amendment.”
(1976).

429 U.S. 97, 104

But not every claim of inadequate medical treatment gives

rise to an Eighth Amendment violation.

Id. at 105.

Negligence

Private entities who provide medical services to inmates—
like Centurion—are equivalent to municipalities under § 1983.
Craig v. Floyd Cnty., 643 F.3d 1306, 1310 (11th Cir. 2011).
1

- 3 -

in

diagnosis

or

treatment—even

if

it

constitutes

medical

malpractice—does not necessarily violate the constitution.
at 106.

Id.

“As long as the medical treatment provided is ‘minimally

adequate,’ a prisoner’s preference for a different treatment does
not give rise to a constitutional claim.”

Chatham v. Adcock, 334

F. App’x 281, 287 (11th Cir. 2009).
Baker’s

allegations

make

it

clear

he

received

medical

treatment for each medical condition identified in the Amended
Complaint.

While Baker found the treatment “inappropriate or

inadequate, a doctor’s choice in treatment and testing is a matter
of

medical

judgment

and

does

deliberate indifference claim.”
924 (11th Cir. 2013).

not

state

an

Eighth

Amendment

Clas v. Torres, 549 F. App’x 922,

To pursue a claim on that basis, Baker can

file a medical negligence or malpractice claim in Florida state
court, but he should be aware of the pre-suit requirements.

See

Fla. Stat. § 766.203.
Baker has not stated a claim upon which relief may be granted.
Based on the allegations in the Amended Complaint, it does not
appear Baker can state a federal claim, but the Court will give
him one final opportunity to amend.
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED:
Mira Baker’s Amended Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights
(Doc. #16) is DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to state a

- 4 -

claim.

Baker may file a second amended complaint within 21 days

of this Opinion and Order.

Otherwise, the Court will enter

judgment and close this case without further notice.
DONE and ORDERED at Fort Myers, Florida, this __3rd___ day of
January, 2025.

SA: FTMP-1
Copies:
Pro se plaintiff

- 5 -