Adell v. Waupun Memorial Hospital

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedDecember 22, 2020
Docket1:20-cv-01617
StatusUnknown

This text of Adell v. Waupun Memorial Hospital (Adell v. Waupun Memorial Hospital) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adell v. Waupun Memorial Hospital, (E.D. Wis. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

MARK ANTHONY ADELL,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 20-C-1617

WAUPUN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, et al.,

Defendants.

SCREENING ORDER

Plaintiff Mark Anthony Adell, who is currently serving a state prison sentence at Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI) and representing himself, filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that his civil rights were violated. This matter comes before the court on Plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed without prepaying the full filing fee and to screen the complaint. MOTION TO PROCEED WITHOUT PREPAYMENT OF THE FILING FEE Plaintiff has requested leave to proceed without prepayment of the full filing fee (in forma pauperis). A prisoner plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis is required to pay the full amount of the $350.00 filing fee over time. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). Plaintiff also moves to waive payment of an initial partial filing fee. Dkt. Nos. 3 & 8. A review of his trust account statement shows he lacks the funds to pay the partial filing fee. Therefore, the court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motions and waives the initial partial filing fee. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(4). SCREENING OF THE COMPLAINT The court has a duty to review any complaint in which a prisoner seeks redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity, and dismiss any complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised any claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b). In screening a complaint, I must determine whether the complaint complies with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and

states at least plausible claims for which relief may be granted. To state a cognizable claim under the federal notice pleading system, Plaintiff is required to provide a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that [he] is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). It must be at least sufficient to provide notice to each defendant of what he or she is accused of doing, as well as when and where the alleged actions or inactions occurred, and the nature and extent of any damage or injury the actions or inactions caused. “The pleading standard Rule 8 announces does not require ‘detailed factual allegations,’ but it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). “The tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a

complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions. Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. at 556. “[T]he complaint’s allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Id. at 555 (internal quotations omitted). ALLEGATIONS OF THE COMPLAINT Plaintiff sues Waupun Memorial Hospital (WMH), a Jane Doe Registered Nurse employed at WMH, WCI Sergeants Voight and Hawkins, Tonia Moon, J. Muenchow, the WCI Security Director, ICE Supervisor CPS Pusich, and a John Doe correctional officer at WCI. Plaintiff asserts

that WMH and Nurse Jane Doe are proper defendants because the Wisconsin Department of Corrections has contracted with the hospital to operate a prison medical ward at WMH staffed by Department staff. Plaintiff alleges that on August 31, 2020, he was admitted to WMH to receive medical treatment. On September 5, 2020, Plaintiff experienced a significant headache and pressed the emergency-call button. Jane Doe quickly responded, and Plaintiff requested his migraine medication. Jane Doe dispensed the medication, but Plaintiff’s condition worsened. He again called for emergency assistance, and Jane Doe returned to assess his condition. She instructed Plaintiff to look directly at her, but Plaintiff alleges his condition prevented him from complying. Jane Doe responded “in a smug tone[,] ‘I can’t help you,’” and left. Dkt. No. 1, ¶ 16.

Plaintiff alleges he was left alone in severe pain for hours, yelling for help, and banging on the room door. He alleges the pain was so severe it caused him to vomit, defecate, and roll around in his bed and on the floor. He alleges Jane Doe deactivated his emergency call button to prevent him from calling for help. The John Doe correctional officer delivered Plaintiff’s dinner tray, but Plaintiff alleges the officer unloaded all items from the tray to avoid having to return to collect them. Plaintiff alleges the officer “was acting in concert with” Nurse Jane Doe to abandon him in the cell. Id. ¶ 19. Eventually Plaintiff’s doctor (who is not a defendant) came to Plaintiff’s cell, examined him, ordered Nurse Jane Doe to provide Plaintiff hydromorphone, and had Plaintiff taken for a CAT scan. Plaintiff asserts Jane Doe had reactivated the emergency call button, and she dispensed his medication only after he pressed the button again. Two correctional officers (who are not defendants) took Plaintiff for the CAT scan and returned him to his cell with instructions to rest. Plaintiff alleges a second unknown nurse (who is not a defendant) later woke him to perform a

nursing assessment. Plaintiff asked to rest for a longer time, and the nurse allegedly told him “in a smug tone” that he would receive the assessment “now or never.” Id. ¶ 24. Plaintiff declined the assessment. The John Doe correctional officer returned to take away the food Plaintiff had not had a chance to eat and “smugly” stated, “I guess you won’t be needing this food.” Id. ¶ 26. Plaintiff insists the John Doe officer deprived him of food in retaliation for refusing the nursing assessment and as part of his collusion with Nurse Jane Doe to deny him treatment. Plaintiff alleges that Sergeants Voight and Hawkins monitor security cameras in the prison medical ward at WMH but refused to intervene and protect Plaintiff from the actions of Nurse Jane Doe and Officer John Doe. He alleges he spoke with Voight and Hawkins later, and both refused to review video from the September 5, 2020 incident. He also asserts that at least one of them was

on duty on September 5, 2020, and “should have overheard” him yell for help. Id. at 14. Plaintiff also wrote to WCI’s Security Director to request that he review the security footage from September 5, 2020. Plaintiff did not receive a response. Plaintiff states he requested medical records from WMH about the day in question, but he received only unrelated records. Plaintiff returned to WCI on September 8, 2020, and the next day submitted an inmate complaint about what happened to him at the hospital.

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Adell v. Waupun Memorial Hospital, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adell-v-waupun-memorial-hospital-wied-2020.