Chittick v. Kayira

District Court, C.D. Illinois·Decided June 22, 2022·No. 3:20-cv-03252·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

NICHOLAS CHITTICK, ) ) Plaintiff, ) v. ) No.: 20-cv-3252-JBM ) FRANCIS KAYIRA, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

MERIT REVIEW ORDER – THIRD AMENDED COMPLAINT

Plaintiff, proceeding pro se and currently incarcerated at Robinson Correctional Center, files a Third Amended Complaint alleging deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs while previously housed at Graham Correctional Center (“Graham”). (Doc. 45). The case is before the Court for a merit review pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. In reviewing the complaint, the Court accepts the factual allegations as true, liberally construing them in Plaintiff's favor. Turley v. Rednour, 729 F.3d 645, 649-51 (7th Cir. 2013). However, conclusory statements and labels are insufficient. Enough facts must be provided to “state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.” Alexander v. United States, 721 F.3d 418, 422 (7th Cir. 2013) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). While the pleading standard does not require “detailed factual allegations,” it requires “more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Wilson v. Ryker, 451 Fed. Appx. 588, 589 (7th Cir. 2011) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)). FACTS While at Graham, Plaintiff began experiencing a crescendo of physical symptoms which underlies his allegation that he suffered through a severe spinal cord compression in his cervical spine. Despite frequent examinations beginning on June 6, 2018, and the eventual referral to a specialist, Plaintiff alleges that his treatment consisted of little more than the observation of his worsening condition until he received surgery on January 2, 2019. Plaintiff claims that the delay in appropriate medical treatment caused substantial harm and irreversible neurologic injury in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Plaintiff names Graham’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francis Kayira, Graham’s Warden Craig Foster, and Wexford’s Risk Assessment Manager Dr. Stephen

Ritz as Defendants1 and seeks $500,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages against each Defendant. Plaintiff attended seven sick calls on 6/6/18, 6/7/18, 6/12/18, 6/27/18, 6/28/18, 7/5/18, and 7/13/18. Dr. Kayira ordered Plaintiff to undergo physical therapy on July 19, 2018, which Plaintiff believes was a “blatantly inappropriate treatment [for a then undiagnosed] severe spinal cord compression.” (Doc. 45 at 6). He also alleges that Dr. Kayira’s decision to prescribe physical therapy was made pursuant to Wexford’s cost reduction policies and did not reflect sound professional judgment. Plaintiff’s mother called and wrote to Warden Foster and other prison officials regarding

his condition, but her calls and letters went unanswered. In addition, Plaintiff wrote to Warden Foster, Assistant Warden Patricia Coke, and Health Care Unit Administrator Stephanie Howard, but Warden Foster never responded. Plaintiff approached Warden Foster in the inmate chow hall on July 18, 2018, and informed him that his neurologic health was declining rapidly and that he was being largely ignored by medical staff. Warden Foster replied, “I’m not a doctor, what do you expect me to do about it?” Id. at 4. Plaintiff also alleges tangentially that there were other unspecified inadequacies with the health care unit that suggested a pattern of defective medical care at Graham. Plaintiff claims that

1 Of course, it is Plaintiff’s burden to prove this claim of treatment delay by verifying medical evidence at summary judgment and at any trial. See Langston v. Peters, 100 F.3d 1235 (7th Cir. 1996). Warden Foster had knowledge of these inadequacies and that his failure to take steps to correct them caused Plaintiff’s injury. On or about July 30, 2018, Plaintiff was treated by Andrew Kamp, a physical therapist at Hillsboro Area Hospital. Plaintiff alleges that Mr. Kamp “expressed misgivings about the appropriateness of physical therapy in Plaintiff’s case, and remarked in his notes that further

diagnostic medical evaluation would be indicated should Plaintiff continue to decline.” Id. at 6. When Plaintiff returned from physical therapy on July 30, 2018, Dr. Kayira allegedly had Plaintiff placed in a sweltering segregation status/suicide watch cell with no air conditioning or electricity for what Dr. Kayira termed “observation” in the health care unit. Id. at 7. Plaintiff was held in this cell for 10 days and did not receive medical treatment or an evaluation. On August 9, 2018, Plaintiff was discharged to the general prison population, over his objection. Dr. Kayira prescribed a lower bunk permit and expressed doubt that Plaintiff had neuromuscular issues. Plaintiff alleges that Dr. Kayira may not have been aware of his exact malady, but Dr. Kayira was certainly aware that Plaintiff was afflicted with a serious medical condition that bore further

investigation due to (1) the lower bunk permit; (2) an x-ray report dated 6/15/2018 that showed end plate sclerosis, disc space narrowing, and osteophyte formation at the site of Plaintiff’s spinal compression; and (3) physical therapist Andrew Kamp’s documented concerns. Plaintiff alleges that Dr. Kayira’s decision to discharge Plaintiff from the health care unit on August 9, 2018, without further diagnostic medical evaluation did not reflect sound professional judgment, delayed appropriate treatment, and caused injury. On August 2, 2018, Dr. Stephen Ritz, the Risk Assessment Manager for Wexford Health Sources, Inc., allegedly denied approval for Plaintiff to receive a neurology consultation with an outside specialist. Instead, Dr. Ritz ordered that Plaintiff be observed by security and that his case be “re-presented” in three weeks or less. Plaintiff alleges that Dr. Ritz’s denial of a consultation with an outside specialist was made pursuant to Wexford’s cost reduction policies. Plaintiff alleges further that Dr. Ritz’s decision was not based on sound professional judgment, as Plaintiff was fully functional and athletic before the sudden onset of neurologic dysfunction, and x-rays revealed osteophyte formations at the site of the spinal compression. Plaintiff asserts that Dr. Ritz’s failure

to refer him to a specialist delayed appropriate treatment. During additional sick calls with Dr. Kayira on September 13 and 26, 2018, Plaintiff informed Dr. Kayira that physical therapy was ineffective and his condition was worsening. Dr. Kayira allegedly did not perform an examination, insisted that Plaintiff continue with physical therapy, and failed to re-present Plaintiff’s case to Dr. Ritz for review, despite knowledge of Dr. Ritz’s prior order on August 2, 2018 to re-present Plaintiff’s case in three weeks or less. Additionally, during the sick call on September 26, 2018, Dr. Kayira informed Plaintiff that he would not receive an MRI, according to the Medical Special Service Referral Denial form dated August 6, 2018. Plaintiff alleges that Dr. Kayira’s failure to conduct a physical examination on

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