Deandre Bradley v. Dr. George Lazopoulos; Dr. William Zizic; Rachelle Stockman; Sheriff Ronald Hain; and Wellpath, LLC

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedFebruary 25, 2026
Docket1:23-cv-05019
StatusUnknown

This text of Deandre Bradley v. Dr. George Lazopoulos; Dr. William Zizic; Rachelle Stockman; Sheriff Ronald Hain; and Wellpath, LLC (Deandre Bradley v. Dr. George Lazopoulos; Dr. William Zizic; Rachelle Stockman; Sheriff Ronald Hain; and Wellpath, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deandre Bradley v. Dr. George Lazopoulos; Dr. William Zizic; Rachelle Stockman; Sheriff Ronald Hain; and Wellpath, LLC, (N.D. Ill. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

DEANDRE BRADLEY, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) No. 23 C 5019 v. ) ) Judge Sara L. Ellis DR. GEORGE LAZOPOULOS; ) DR. WILLIAM ZIZIC; RACHELLE ) STOCKMAN; SHERIFF RONALD HAIN; ) and WELLPATH, LLC, ) ) Defendants. )

OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Deandre Bradley, a disabled individual, filed this lawsuit alleging he did not receive proper dental care while a pretrial detainee at the Kane County Adult Justice Center (“KCAJC”). In his second amended complaint, he brings claims for alleged violations of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 974, against Ronald Hain, the Sheriff of Kane County, in his official capacity.1 Bradley also claims that Sheriff Hain, Dr. George Lazopoulos, Rachelle Stockman, and Dr. William Zizic, in their individual and official capacities, and Wellpath, LLC violated his Fourteenth Amendment rights. All Defendants have filed motions to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Because Wellpath’s bankruptcy proceeding discharged all of Bradley’s claims against Wellpath and Dr. Lazopoulos, Stockman, and Dr. Zizic, the Court dismisses them with prejudice. But Bradley has sufficiently pleaded his Fourteenth Amendment claim against Sheriff Hain and therefore may go forward with this claim.

1 Bradley initially brought these claims against KCAJC but moved to substitute Sheriff Hain as the proper defendant. Doc. 58. The Court granted this motion and substituted Hain for KCAJC. Doc. 64. BACKGROUND2 KCAJC contracted with Wellpath to have the company provide all medical treatment for its pretrial detainees. Wellpath employed Dr. Lazopoulos, Dr. Zizic, and Rachelle Stockman. Dr. Lazopoulos and Dr. Zizic worked as doctors at KCAJC, and Stockman served as the medical

administrator. Before his incarceration, Bradley sought medical dental treatment at Stoney Island Dental in Chicago, Illinois. Stoney Island Dental’s professionals extracted and filled several of Bradley’s teeth and provided Bradley with a gum disease treatment plan. Bradley and the professionals discussed partial dentures as the next form of treatment. But on March 10, 2023, he entered KCAJC as a pretrial detainee before he received this treatment. Based on his past experiences with incarceration, Bradley thought that a dental professional would assess him during the intake process. But during KCAJC’s intake process, no one assessed or questioned Bradley’s dental care concerns. Bradley also believed that he could not request any dental services until after a dental professional assessed him during the

intake process. KCAJC’s handbook states that “[d]ental services are available to detainees who request it.” Doc. 43 ¶ 6. While incarcerated, Bradley experienced bleeding while brushing his teeth, excessive swelling, cut gums, and random bleeding, pains, and odor in his mouth. Bradley believes his pain stemmed in part from a wisdom tooth on the top right side of his mouth, no other teeth in the back of his mouth, and severely weakened front teeth. He had no control over the food

2 The Court takes the facts in the background section from Bradley’s second amended complaint and presumes them to be true for the purpose of resolving Defendants’ motions to dismiss. See Phillips v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 714 F.3d 1017, 1019–20 (7th Cir. 2013). Although the Court normally cannot consider extrinsic evidence without converting a motion to dismiss into one for summary judgment, Jackson v. Curry, 888 F.3d 259, 263 (7th Cir. 2018), the Court “may [ ] take judicial notice of matters of public record.” Orgone Cap. III, LLC v. Daubenspeck, 912 F.3d 1039, 1043–44 (7th Cir. 2019). KCAJC provided, so he had to eat hard food, which exacerbated his oral injuries, pain, and suffering. Bradley does, however, take pain medications to address other chronic pains unrelated to his dental issues. Because his dental issues persisted, Bradley submitted a medical grievance request

(#594435) on June 3, 2023, complaining about his excessive bleeding gums, swelling, gum disease, oral odor, and need for partial dentures. On June 5, 2023, KCAJC brought Bradley to see a dental assistant within the facility named Cara Mendez. Mendez did not examine Bradley’s teeth and instead told a KCAJC officer outside the examination room that Wellpath did not have an available dentist and so “nothing would come” from her performing a dental examination except charging Bradley $10. Id. ¶ 18. Mendez also told this to Bradley and further explained that Wellpath does not employ any dental staff that would address his specific dental needs. Bradley believes that Mendez was not a qualified health professional trained to perform dental examinations. Because Bradley did not receive a dental examination on June 5, no medical records exist

to describe this encounter. But Bradley kept his own notes describing the interaction. He also submitted a second grievance request (#594742) on June 7, 2023, explaining what occurred at his appointment with Mendez. On June 12, 2023, Bradley received a response to his June 7 grievance stating, “This will be forwarded to the medical administrator for clarification response.”3 Id. ¶ 27. Bradley received a second response later that day stating, “The dentist is here each Friday, you have been added to the list on 6/16.” Id. ¶ 54. But sometime after June 16, Bradley submitted a medical grievance request (#595664) stating that no appointment

3 KCAJC’s policy requires that personnel acknowledge detainee grievances within fifteen days of receipt unless circumstances require additional time. If personnel need additional time, then they must send the detainee a written response through the kiosk stating why they need additional time and an expected completion date. occurred because someone told Bradley that they had rescheduled his appointment to the next available appointment. On June 30, 2023, Stockman and Dr. Lazopoulos came to Bradley’s cell for a “pod visit.” Id. ¶ 30. Bradley felt shocked by their presence at his cell, but Dr. Lazopoulos and Stockman

stated that they were there to clarify what Mendez had told Bradley at his June 5 appointment. Bradley asked Stockman if he could see an outside specialist for his dental issues because the facility and Wellpath could not address his issues, but Stockman said he could not see an outside specialist. She explained that KCAJC’s policy does not allow outside referrals because KCAJC is a short-term living facility. Stockman instead told him that he would have to go home or to prison to receive dental treatment for his issues. Dr. Lazopoulos also told Bradley that he was not a periodontist and therefore he could not address any of Bradley’s medical grievances or requests. Dr. Lazopoulos did not examine Bradley’s teeth. Bradley’s medical records include a June 30 dental note from Dr. Lazopoulos reflecting this pod visit. Dr. Lazopoulos noted that Bradley requested a “periodontal TX which was

diagnosed by his Dentist, has bleeding painful gums, also requesting partials. Detainee was told perio tx / partials are not services [ ] provided at this facility.” Id. ¶ 37. He also noted that “tube of Crest sensitive TP (toothpaste) was provided. RX: saltwater rinse BID x 90 days.” Id. ¶ 44. He further stated that Bradley should have a follow up exam “in a couple of weeks.” Id.

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Bluebook (online)
Deandre Bradley v. Dr. George Lazopoulos; Dr. William Zizic; Rachelle Stockman; Sheriff Ronald Hain; and Wellpath, LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deandre-bradley-v-dr-george-lazopoulos-dr-william-zizic-rachelle-ilnd-2026.