Kruse Ex Rel. Jordan v. Williams

592 F. App'x 848
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedDecember 4, 2014
Docket13-15702
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 592 F. App'x 848 (Kruse Ex Rel. Jordan v. Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kruse Ex Rel. Jordan v. Williams, 592 F. App'x 848 (11th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Frank Kruse, the personal representative of the estate of Jacob Jordan, appeals the summary judgment against his second amended complaint that Jimmie L. Williams, a nurse at the Baldwin County' Corrections Center, was deliberately indifferent to Jordan’s serious medical need in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, see 42 U.S.C. § 1988, and committed medical malpractice that caused Jordan’s wrongful death, in violation of state law. The district court ruled that Williams was entitled to qualified immunity from Kruse’s federal § 1983 claim and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims. After review of the parties’ briefs and the record, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Jordan’s Medical Condition and Detainment

Jordan was diagnosed with Addison’s disease when he was approximately 17 years old. Addison’s disease causes a sufferer’s adrenal glands to produce insufficient cortisol, which is a substance that helps the body regulate sodium and potassium levels, blood sugar, and blood pressure.

In 2010, Jordan was arrested and taken to the Mobile County Metro Jail for failing to comply with a condition of his release after pleading guilty to second degree possession of marijuana and two hunting offenses. On June 25, 2010, Jordan became weak and nauseated and went to the jail’s medical unit, where he received liquids throughout the evening. The next day, Jordan reported feeling better and returned to his cell. Later that day, the medical staff at Mobile County Metro drew a sample of Jordan’s blood for testing. The test results, which were returned to Mobile County Metro on July 2, 2010, revealed that Jordan had dangerously low levels of sodium and high levels of potassium.

On July 2, 2010, Jordan was transferred to the Baldwin County Corrections Center (“BCCC”) without any medical records from Mobile County Metro. The medical staff at BCCC did not learn of Jordan’s critical test results until after his death. However, Jordan’s intake report, prepared on July 2, stated that he “TAKE[S] MEDS FOR ADDISON’S DISEASE” and “HAS ADDISON’S DISEASE.” On July 7, 2010, Jordan was evaluated by a nurse, who measured his blood pressure (79/48) and heart rate (88 bpm). Jordan told a nurse that he took Prednisone and Flori-nef for his Addison’s disease, but the nurse could not verify his prescriptions at the pharmacies he listed. Jordan consented to release his medical records to BCCC on the same day.

Around 9:00 a.m. on July 8, 2010, nurse Connie Pimperl examined Jordan at his request. Pimperl wrote in Jordan’s medical records that he had low blood pressure. Pimperl’s note reflects that Jordan told Pimperl he was feeling weak, “like [he was] going to pass out,” and that if his condition persisted, he would need to go to the hospital. Jordan stated that he did not “take meds on a reg[ular] basis as long as he [could] eat [and] drink when he needs to.” Pimperl also recorded that Jordan’s blood pressure was 90/51, his *850 heart rate was 109 bpm, and his head was lolling from side to side.. Although Jordan told Pimperl that he was dehydrated, Pim-perl drew blood from Jordan easily, which she interpreted to be a sign that he was not severely dehydrated.

Pimperl then called the medical director of BCCC, Dr. Charles Sherman, who stated that no bloodwork was needed. Dr. Sherman instructed Pimperl to give Jordan some Gatorade “for sodium replacement” and to administer 40 milligrams of Prednisone for three days, and thereafter, doses of 20 milligrams and then eventually 10 milligrams daily. Around 9:30 a.m., Pimperl gave Jordan a 40-milligram Pred-nisone pill as directed. Jordan also drank four glasses of Gatorade and returned to his cell with a gallon of Gatorade. At this time, Pimperl thought Jordan was in stable condition because his blood pressure had improved from the day before, his heart rate did not exceed 120 bpm, he “was not passing out in front of [her]”, and he had not vomited.

At Pimperl’s request, another nurse on the same shift contacted Jordan’s mother to complete Jordan’s medical history. According to Jordan’s mother, Jordan had not been to a doctor in about four years and managed his Addison’s disease with diet and fluids. The nurse recorded that Jordan had not taken his medication for a “long time”; had filled his prescriptions for Florinef and Prednisone at a local Winn Dixie store; and had been treated by two local physicians.

B. Williams’s Conduct and Jordan’s Death

Defendant Williams, a licensed practical nurse, arrived around 2:00 p.m. on July 8, 2010, to begin her shift at BCCC. Jordan’s medical records contain handwritten notes made by Williams at 4:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8:00 p.m., and 9:45 p.m. on July 8.

At 4:00 p.m. (1600 hours), BCCC officers called a “code blue” to request medical assistance at Jordan’s cell. Williams responded to the request and discovered Jordan lying supine on the floor with his hand under his head and his right leg elevated. Jordan said that he was sick and had “passed out.” Jordan asked to go to the hospital and told Williams, “[w]hen I was at Metro they sent me to the hospital and gave me IV fluids” and “I feel worse now than then.” Jordan also said that he had not taken his medication in two or three months. Jordan’s skin was warm and dry, his blood pressure was 98/72, his heart rate was 85 bpm, and his oxygen saturation was 100 percent. Jordan had been told to drink Gatorade and had drunk half of a Gatorade jug by 4:00 p.m. Williams arranged for Jordan to be moved from his cell block to the medical block and placed on general watch.

According to Williams’s note at 4:30 p.m. (1630 hours), Williams was informed that Jordan’s mother had called the medical unit and told staff that “[Jordan’s] going to pass out!” and to “docket this also!” Jordan saw his mother at visitation earlier that day. According to BCCC officers, Jordan “had ambulated fine to visitation and back to [the] cell block,” and Jordan’s mother said during visitation that Jordan “need[ed] to go to the hospital.”

Around 6:30 p.m. (1830 hours), an officer in the medical block called Williams and reported that Jordan was vomiting. Williams noted that Jordan was “[m]oan-ing and [said he] needed to go [to] the hospital!!” At this time, Williams called Dr. Sherman and Dr. Sherman verbally instructed Williams to give Jordan 25 milligrams of Phenergan (a sedative that alleviates nausea) and clear liquids such as chicken broth. Williams went to the medi *851 cal block and found Jordan lying on a mat on the floor. Williams administered the Phenergan to Jordan intramuscularly for his nausea and vomiting and gave him two cups of warm broth. Jordan continued to complain about having “never felt this bad” and being “dehydrated.” Williams “[e]ncouraged [Jordan] to sip liquids only”; Jordan “[t]olerated [the injection of Phen-ergan] well”; and Jordan took a “[f]ew sips of broth.” The note also states that “[e]ncouragement [was] given!” by Williams.

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592 F. App'x 848, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kruse-ex-rel-jordan-v-williams-ca11-2014.