Dawson v. Archambeau

District Court, D. Colorado·Decided December 10, 2020·No. 1:16-cv-00489·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Judge Christine M. Arguello

Civil Action No. 16-cv-00489-CMA-NYW

JAMES R. DAWSON, JR.,

Plaintiff,

v.

JEFF ARCHAMBEAU, CEO of Colorado Health Partners, RICK RAEMISCH, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, SUSAN TIONA, Chief Medical Officer of the Colorado Department of Corrections, C. IRELAND, FCF Health Providers, T. SICOTTE, and R. FRICKEY,

Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT FRICKEY’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

This matter is before the Court on Defendant Nurse Practitioner Robert Frickey’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue of Exhaustion (the “Motion” or “Motion for Summary Judgment”), wherein Mr. Frickey asserts that he is entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiff’s remaining claim against him because Plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies with respect to that claim. See generally (Doc. # 243). For the reasons that follow, the Court grants the Motion. I. BACKGROUND A. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Plaintiff, Mr. James R. Dawson, Jr., is an inmate in the custody of the Colorado Department of Corrections (“CDOC”) who has Hepatitis C. Between 2014 and 2015, Mr. Dawson sought medical treatment while incarcerated at Fremont Correctional Facility from various CDOC medical care providers. Relevant to the instant Motion, Mr. Dawson

had one appointment with Mr. Frickey, a CDOC nurse practitioner, on January 24, 2014. At his appointment with Mr. Frickey, Mr. Dawson requested a discussion of treatment options for Hepatitis C and requested that a diagnostic colonoscopy be rescheduled. Mr. Dawson alleges, and Mr. Frickey denies, that he informed Mr. Frickey that he was experiencing disabling abdominal pain. Mr. Dawson filed three sets of grievances with CDOC that relate to his medical care.1 Mr. Dawson filed Grievance C-FF13/14-00050863 (“First Grievance”) on January 13, 2014, prior to his appointment with Mr. Frickey. The First Grievance concerned deliberate indifference to Mr. Dawson’s medical needs related to inadequate preparation for a scheduled colonoscopy. Therein, Mr. Dawson requested, in part, that

the colonoscopy be rescheduled with proper preparation.2 CDOC denied Mr. Dawson’s

1 The Third Grievance—Grievance CFF 15/16-00084024-2—is not relevant to the instant Motion. It concerns “discrimination in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment,” and summary judgment entered in favor of Mr. Frickey on Mr. Dawson’s Fourteenth Amendment claim against him. Accordingly, the Court limits its discussion to the First and Second Grievances herein.

2 The First Grievance reads as follows: On 1/6/14, I was given an inadequate amount of laxative and fraudulent instructions on how and when to use the inadequate laxative for a scheduled colonoscopy. On 1/7/14, when I went to get my colonoscopy, I was informed by hospital medical staff that due to inadequate prep being given to me by FCF medical staff that my colonoscopy could not be performed. My father had colon cancer, polyps were found during my last colonoscopy five years ago, and I recently discovered blood in my stool.

My requested remedy is to be rescheduled for my colonoscopy, receive the proper preparation, and given the names of the nurses responsible for the inadequate colonoscopy laxative give to me on 1/6/2014. . . . First Grievance at all three steps of the grievance process, culminating in a letter from Step 3 Grievance Officer Anthony A. DeCesaro on March 20, 2014. See generally (Doc. # 270-1 at 7–10). The letter stated, in part, as follows:

You met with a provider on 1/29/14 and another request for a colonoscopy was made on your behalf. Your treatment appears to be adequate and appropriate for your condition. . . . I do not find that DOC was or is deliberately indifferent to your medical condition and therefore cannot recommend any relief in this matter. . . . This is the final administrative response in this matter and you have exhausted your administrative remedies.

(Id. at 10.) Mr. Dawson filed a second grievance related to medical care with CDOC on August 19, 2015. (Id. at 11.) Grievance C-FF15/16-00079119 (“Second Grievance”) concerns deliberate indifference to a serious medical need stemming from a lack of Hepatitis C monitoring and a delay in the determination of Mr. Dawson’s request to receive a new Hepatitis C medication.3 Mr. Dawson requested Hepatitis C treatment and that he be informed of his status for medication. CDOC denied Mr. Dawson’s Second Grievance at all steps of the grievance process. Mr. DeCesaro issued a letter to Mr. Dawson on October 19, 2015, in which he explained that Mr. Dawson was being assessed to determine the appropriate treatment program for him, in accordance with Hepatitis C treatment protocol. (Id. at 14.) Mr. DeCesaro denied Mr. Dawson’s request

(Doc. # 270-1 at 7.)

3 Therein, Mr. Dawson grieved that he “had not received any type of Hep-C monitoring in two years.” (Id.) With respect to the new Hepatitis C medication, Mr. Dawson stated that he was advised by FCF Medical Staff to contact Mental Health to inquire about his approval for the new Hepatitis C treatment and that he had received no answer. for relief and stated “[t]his is the final administrative response in this matter and you have exhausted your administrative remedies.” (Id.) B. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Mr. Dawson initiated this case with his Prisoner Complaint on February 25, 2016. (Doc. # 1.) In his Amended & Supplemental Prisoner Complaint, Mr. Dawson brings the following claims under 42 U.S.C § 1983 for various constitutional violations: 1) Claim One – that Mr. Raemisch, Dr. Tiona, and Mr. Archambeau violated his right to equal protection by creating, implementing, and applying a discriminatory policy to delay and deny him a cure for Hepatitis C, while providing a cure to other similarly situated inmates (Fourteenth Amendment), and that said defendants were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs (Eighth Amendment); 2) Claim Two - that Dr. Ireland, Ms. Sicotte, Mr. Frickey, and Ms. Hibbs were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs, in failing to monitor his Hepatitis C and in failing to provide any treatment for acute symptoms of that disease (Eighth Amendment); and 3) Claim Three - that Dr. Ireland, Ms. Sicotte, Mr. Frickey, and Ms. Hibbs violated his due process rights by failing to follow the Clinical Standards for treatment of his Hepatitis C (Fourteenth Amendment). See generally (Doc. # 102). On March 30, 2018, Judge Marcia Krieger granted summary judgment in favor of all Defendants on all claims. (Doc. # 186.) The Tenth Circuit affirmed Judge Krieger’s grant of summary judgment on Claim Three, the portion of Claim One alleging a Fourteenth Amendment violation, and Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claims to the extent they concerned Mr. Dawson’s ongoing need for Hepatitis C treatment. (Doc. # 202); Dawson v. Archambeau, 763 F. App'x 667, 672 (10th Cir. 2019). The Tenth Circuit reversed, in relevant part, the grant of summary judgment to the medical provider Defendants, including Mr. Frickey, on Mr. Dawson’s Eighth Amendment claim that they were deliberately indifferent to Mr. Dawson’s serious medical needs in failing to provide any treatment for the acute symptoms he reported. Dawson, 763 F. App’x at 673. The Tenth Circuit remanded the claims to the district court for further consideration.

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