Bailey v. United States

115 F. Supp. 3d 882, 97 Fed. R. Serv. 1661, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97288, 2015 WL 4512395
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedJuly 27, 2015
DocketNo. 3:12CV02545
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 115 F. Supp. 3d 882 (Bailey v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bailey v. United States, 115 F. Supp. 3d 882, 97 Fed. R. Serv. 1661, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97288, 2015 WL 4512395 (N.D. Ohio 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES G. CARR, Senior District Judge.

This is a wrongful death and survival action under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671. et seq. (FTCA), against two United States Army recruiting officers and the United States of America.

Plaintiff Lora Bailey, individually and as Successor in Interest to the Estate of Glenni S. Wilsey V, alleges the Army, through the defendant recruiters, negligently caused her son’s death by instructing him to use dangerous weight-loss methods to meet Army enlistment standards.

Pending is defendants’ motion for summary judgment. (Doc. 51).

For the reasons discussed below, I grant the motion.

Background

In October or, November 2010, Wilsey and his friend, Christopher Gibson, joined [887]*887a fitness club. According to plaintiff, Wil-sey told her he joined the club “[njumber one, to be healthy; number two, to enlist in the military.” (Doc. 51-1, Ex.10 at 22:8-17). Gibson testified Wilsey said he had been “a strong football player- [in high school] and he wanted a little more of that back.”1 (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 11 at 15:14-21). The two began to work out together one hour per day, four to six days per week, combining weight training with cardiovascular exercise. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 11 at 17:7-19:20).

Soon thereafter, on December 7, 2010, Wilsey visited the Army’s recruiting station in Sandusky, Ohio. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 2). During that visit, a recruiting officer, Staff Sergeant Anthony Charles, weighed Wil-sey, measured his height and “taped” him to determine his body-fat percentage. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 2). Sgt. Charles estimated Wilsey weighed 240 pounds and had twenty-seven percent body fat. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 4).

Sgt. Charles told Wilsey that to meet enlistment standards, he needed to have, at most, twenty-six percent body fat.2 (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 3, 61:18-23). Sgt. Charles advised Wilsey to “run and do cardio.” (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 4).

According to Gibson, Wilsey began researching new workout techniques online. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 11 at 22:6-10). Wilsey’s cardiovascular workouts soon became more frequent and more demanding. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 10 at' 61:1-6, Ex. 11 at 20:12-21:4, 28:12-24). He started to wear sweat-inducing garments under his gym clothes to accelerate weight loss, an idea he tbld Gibson he heard at the recruiting office. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 11 at 22:6-24:8). A recruiter also gave Wilsey a neoprene waist band to wear at.night to shrink his waist for the body-fat measurement. (Doc. 51-2, Ex. 17 at 43:18-46:24).

Around this time, Wilsey changed his dietary habits. He consumed fewer than 800 calories per day, purged himself if he ate too much and drank large quantities of water. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 10 at 57:6-15, 66:12-16). Plaintiff testified Wilsey told her Army recruiters had instructed him to take these measures, and also to take over-the-counter weight loss pills. Id.

On January 27, 2011, Sgt. Charles weighed Wilsey again. He weighed 219 pounds with twenty-four percent body fat. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 2, Ex. 6). He thus had lost twenty-one pounds in about six weeks. Although he had, at that point, satisfied the Army’s body-fat requirement, he continued his weight-loss program.

On February 11, 2011, Wilsey enlisted in the Army. (Doe. 51-1, Ex. 1). On that day, he weighed '211 pounds with twenty-three percent body fat; (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 9). He had lost an additional eight pounds in about two weeks.

By late February 2011, Wilsey weighed 195 pounds. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 11 at 45:14-20). In total, he had lost approximately forty-five pounds since the beginning of December 2010.

On February 26, 2011, an Army recruiter noted in Wilsey’s records that he was “doing well” and was “excited.” (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 2).

Less than a week later, on the morning of March 3, 2011, Wilsey’s fiancée, Sonnie Rochelle King, found him unresponsive in [888]*888his home. (Doc. 51-2, Ex. 12 at 69:11-21). Paramedics took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. (Doc. 51-1, Ex. 19).

At plaintiffs request, there was no autopsy. (Doc. 51-2, Ex. 20 ¶ 9). The coroner concluded acute cardiac dysrhythmia to be the immediate cause of death, electrolyte imbalance to be a condition leading to death, and dieting to be another significant contributing factor. (Doc. 51-2, Ex. 19, Ex. 20 ¶ 2). He testified he based his conclusion on conversations with plaintiff and King, who told him Wilsey had been exercising heavily, dieting excessively, purging and taking over-the-counter weight loss supplements. (Doc. 51-2, Ex. 20 ¶ 11).

In October 2012, plaintiff brought this suit against the United States of America, Sgt. Charles and another unnamed Army recruiting officer. (Doc. 1).

Plaintiff alleges defendants negligently caused Wilsey’s death by failing to warn him of risks associated with the diet and exercise regimen they instructed him to follow, and by failing adequately to monitor his health during the three-month period before his death. {Id. ¶¶ 13-17).

To support her allegations, plaintiff engaged Dr. Jeffrey B. Noftz II, a primary care and sports medicine physician, to opine on the cause of Wilsey’s death. (Doc. 51-2, Ex. 21). In his expert report, Dr. Noftz concludes “it is my opinion that Mr. Wilsey’s rapid and significant weight loss and the methods used to achieve this weight loss which included extreme low-calorie intake, purging, use of sweat garments and diuretics coupled with the potential for a pre-existing heart valve ab-normaility and use of [asthma medication] for wheezing placed him at significant risk for electrolyte abnormalities and lethal cardiac arrythmia.” (Doc. 51-2, Ex. 21 at 3).

Dr. Noftz later testified, however, that without an autopsy and premortem blood analysis, it is impossible to make a definitive diagnosis ruling out possible cardiac and non-cardiac causes of death unrelated to Wilsey’s diet and exercise regime. (Doc. 51-2, Ex. 22 at 36:19-37:24, 59:160:12). He also admitted he lacked “[v]ery important” information regarding Wilsey’s activities in the forty-eight hours preceding his death. {Id. at 33:4-19).

Defendants’ motion for summary judgment contends no reasonable jury could find for plaintiff because: 1) there is no admissible evidence the Army’s actions proximately caused Wilsey’s death; and 2) there is no admissible evidence the Army breached a duty of care by failing to protect or aid Wilsey. (Doc. 51).

Standard of Review

Summary judgment is appropriate under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 where the opposing party fails to show the existence of an essential element for which the party bears the burden of proof. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The movant must initially show the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

Once the movant meets that initial burden, the “burden shifts to the nonmoving party [to] set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,

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115 F. Supp. 3d 882, 97 Fed. R. Serv. 1661, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97288, 2015 WL 4512395, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bailey-v-united-states-ohnd-2015.