Hoskins v. Chapman

District Court, S.D. Illinois·Decided April 21, 2022·No. 3:20-cv-00508·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

JOSHUA LEE HOSKINS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) ) Case No. 3:20-cv-00508-GCS NATHAN CHAPMAN, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM & ORDER SISON, Magistrate Judge: Plaintiff Joshua L. Hoskins is currently in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections (“IDOC”) and incarcerated at Dixon Correctional Center. (Doc. 106, p. 2). Hoskins proceeds pro se. On June 1, 2020, Hoskins filed suit against Defendant Chapman pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for claims arising from his medical care while incarcerated at Pinckneyville Correctional Center (“Pinckneyville”). (Doc. 1). In his complaint, Hoskins alleges that Defendant Chapman, a dentist, was deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment when he failed to timely fill one of Hoskins’s cavities. (Doc. 48, p. 1-2). Hoskins also claims that Defendant delayed filling his cavity in retaliation for Hoskins filing grievances about Defendant’s medical care. Id. On February 24, 2022, the Court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant Chapman and against Hoskins, and Judgment reflecting the same was entered the next day. (Doc. 144, 145). Now pending before the Court is Hoskins’s motion for reconsideration, (Doc. 148), his motion for the Court to provide information regarding an appeal, (Doc. 149), his

supplemental motion for reconsideration, (Doc. 151), his second supplemental motion for reconsideration, (Doc. 153), his motion for the Court to Consider, (Doc. 154), and his motion for the Court to Provide and Advise. (Doc. 156). For the reasons delineated below, each of these motions is DENIED. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Hoskins first reported developing cavities while he was incarcerated at Stateville

Correctional Center (“Stateville”). (Doc. 106, p. 2). Though the Stateville dentist was able to fill one of Hoskins’s cavities, he was not able to fill a cavity on tooth thirteen before Hoskins was transferred to Pinckneyville on June 5, 2019. Id. After his transfer from Stateville to Pinckneyville, Hoskins complained of dental pain and cavities. Id. at p. 16.

On June 24, 2019, Hoskins filed a grievance stating that he had dental pain, but security staff intercepted his requests to see the medical unit. (Doc. 106, p. 16). Hoskins again filed a grievance on July 30, 2019, stating that he had dental pain because he was not allowed toothbrushes and toothpaste by security staff. Id. On August 19, 2019,

Hoskins filed a grievance again alleging that security staff would not provide a toothbrush or toothpaste. Id. at p. 17. On September 27, 2019, Hoskins requested a nurse sick call for medical treatment after he was struck in the jaw. (Doc. 106, p. 3). Hoskins saw Defendant Chapman on referral for treatment to his jaw on October 3, 2019. Id. During the visit, Defendant Chapman noted that Hoskins was able to talk normally. Id. Hoskins also did not appear to be in distress and did not grimace when physically examined. Id. Nevertheless,

Defendant Chapman ordered an x-ray of Hoskins’s jaw and provided him with a mouth guard. Id. The x-ray did not reveal any fractures or dislocations to Hoskins’s jaw; however, Defendant Chapman scheduled Hoskins for a filling for tooth thirteen on October 22, 2019. Id. On November 12, 2019, Defendant Chapman provided a filling for Hoskins’s tooth thirteen. (Doc. 106, p. 4). At that time, Defendant found that Hoskins also had a cavity in

tooth nineteen. Id. However, this cavity was visible only on an x-ray. Id. Hoskins did not report pain in connection with the cavity, so Defendant did not find an emergent need to fill the tooth. Id. Instead, Defendant placed Hoskins on a waiting list for a filling and advised him to use floss to clean his teeth. Id. During November 2019, Defendant saw approximately 278 patients for dental services. Id.

Hoskins filed additional grievances requesting dental care on February 24 and March 16, 2020. (Doc. 106 at p. 17 n.5). On March 20, 2020, the dental unit received a copy of one of Hoskins’s grievances regarding his dental care. Id. at p. 4. Defendant Chapman noted that he received no contact from Hoskins since his November 12, 2019 appointment and that Hoskins requested no nurse sick calls about his dental complaints. Id. However,

Defendant still scheduled Hoskins for a dentist appointment shortly thereafter. Id. Hoskins next saw Defendant for a dentist appointment on March 31, 2020. (Doc. 106, p. 5). When Defendant examined Hoskins, he found no swelling, bleeding, pus or other signs of infection in his gums. Id. Hoskins did have a small incisal chip on tooth twenty-two; however, Defendant was unable to repair the chip because the IDOC had prohibited non-emergent dental interventions as a COVID-19 precautionary measure. Id.

Defendant was also unable to provide a filling for tooth nineteen, as the cavity on this tooth was deemed non-emergent. Id. Hoskins did not report pain or distress during his March 31, 2020 appointment with Defendant, nor did there appear to be damage to the nerve root of tooth nineteen which would have caused such pain. (Doc. 106, p. 5). After Hoskins was transferred to Dixon Correctional Center in 2021, he saw a new dentist. Id. at p. 6. However, Hoskins

did not request pain medication for his yet un-filled cavity. Id. The IDOC maintained the restrictions on non-emergent dentistry through May 2021. Id. Hoskins had not received a filling for his tooth as of his May 3, 2021 deposition. Id. The Court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant Chapman on February 24, 2022. (Doc. 144). Hoskins filed the present motion for reconsideration on

March 7, 2022. (Doc. 148). Without waiting for Defendant Chapman to respond, Hoskins also filed three supplements to his motion for reconsideration on March 7, 2022; March 15, 2022; and March 16, 2022. (Doc. 151, 153, 154). The first of these supplements contains an August 29, 2019 grievance, in which Plaintiff alleges that he has not been allowed to buy toothbrushes or toothpaste from the commissary. (Doc. 151, p. 4). The second

supplement contains the Pinckneyville administration’s and the Administrative Review Board’s (“ARB”) responses to the grievance. (Doc. 153, p. 3-5). The ARB noted that Hoskins last received dental care as of November 12, 2019, making this issue moot. Id. at p. 3. That response was dated January 30, 2020. Id. Finally, in his third supplement, Hoskins explains that he was initially referred to Dr. Myers on October 3, 2019, who then referred him to Defendant Chapman. (Doc. 154). In doing so, Dr. Myers reported

Hoskins’s statements that it hurt when he chewed. Id. Hoskins fails to explain either why he did not present these grievances with his initial response to Defendant Chapman’s motion for summary judgment or why he did not make his argument regarding Dr. Myers in his response. LEGAL STANDARDS Courts consider motions challenging the merits of a district court order as filed

pursuant to either Rule 59(e) or Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Mares v. Busby, 34 F.3d 533, 535 (7th Cir. 1994). Rule 59(e) authorizes relief only in “exceptional cases” and permits a court to amend an order or judgment only if the movant demonstrates a manifest error of law or fact, or if the movant presents newly discovered evidence that was not previously available. Willis v. Dart, No. 16-1498, 671

Fed. Appx. 376, 377 (7th Cir. Dec. 9, 2016)(quoting Gonzalez–Koeneke v. West., 791 F.3d 801, 807 (7th Cir. 2015)); Heyde v.

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