Aldridge v. Stewart et al
Filing
4
MEMORANDUM OF THE COURT. Signed by District Judge Aleta A. Trauger on 8/30/13. (xc:Pro se party by regular and certified mail.)(DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(afs)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
TANDELYN ALDRIDGE
Plaintiff,
v.
DR. WILLIAM STEWART, et al.
Defendants.
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No. 3:13-0843
Judge Trauger
M E M O R A N D U M
The
plaintiff,
proceeding
pro
se,
is
an
inmate
at
the
Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville. She brings this action
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Drs. William Stewart and Paul
Somers, physicians at the Tennessee Prison for Women (TPW); Linda
Hill, a nurse practitioner at TPW; Corizon Healthcare, a private
company under contract to provide medical care for TPW inmates; and
the Tennessee Prison for Women; seeking damages.
On December 8, 2012, the plaintiff slipped in some water and
“felt something snap”. She was taken to the infirmary where Dr.
Steward ordered an x-ray of the plaintiff’s foot. She remained in
the infirmary for five days.
A month later, Dr. Stewart told the plaintiff that she had
ruptured the Achilles tendon in her right foot. The plaintiff’s
condition has worsened and she now believes that she has been
denied adequate medical care in violation of her constitutional
rights.
In order to establish a claim for relief under § 1983, the
plaintiff must plead and prove that the defendants, while acting
under color of state law, deprived her of some right or privilege
secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Parratt
v. Taylor, 101 S.Ct. 1908, 1913 (1981).
The Eighth Amendment guarantees a prisoner the right to
medical care. This right has been violated when prison officials
are deliberately indifferent to a prisoner’s serious medical needs.
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976).
According to the complaint, the plaintiff’s foot has been
examined by at least six physicians, some of which are orthopedic
specialists. The plaintiff’s foot has been x-rayed on more than one
occasion and she has been prescribed medication for pain. The
plaintiff has been issued a boot for the injured foot and crutches.
In addition, she has been issued a limited activity notice (LAN)
and has been to an outside hospital for physical therapy. From this
information, it does not appear that the defendants have been
deliberately indifferent to the plaintiff’s serious medical needs.
Instead, this dispute is simply a disagreement over the adequacy of
the care being provided by the defendants.
When a prisoner has received some medical attention and her
claim is a challenge to the adequacy of the care provided, federal
courts are generally reluctant to second guess medical judgments
and constitutionalize claims which sound in state tort law. Hill
v.Jones, 211 F.3d 1269 (6th Cir.2000). The plaintiff’s primary
complaint is that “they waited too long to fix my foot.” Such a
claim suggests that the defendants were negligent in their care of
the plaintiff’s injury. But medical malpractice does not become a
constitutional tort merely because the victim is a prisoner.
Estelle, supra at 429 U.S. 105-106. Therefore, the plaintiff has
failed to describe conduct resulting in a violation of federal law.
Comstock v. McCrary, 273 F.3d 693, 703 (6th Cir.2001).
Absent a violation of federal law, the plaintiff is unable to
prove every element of a § 1983 cause of action. Consequently, she
has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. When
a prisoner proceeding in forma pauperis has failed to state a claim
for relief, the Court is obliged to dismiss the instant action sua
sponte. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2).
An appropriate order will be entered.
____________________________
Aleta A. Trauger
United States District Judge
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