Kucharczyk v. Westchester County

95 F. Supp. 3d 529, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38705, 2015 WL 1379893
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 26, 2015
DocketNo. 14-CV-601 (KMK)
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 95 F. Supp. 3d 529 (Kucharczyk v. Westchester County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kucharczyk v. Westchester County, 95 F. Supp. 3d 529, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38705, 2015 WL 1379893 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

KENNETH M. KARAS, District Judge:

Pro se Plaintiff Louis Kucharczyk (“Plaintiff’) filed the instant Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Westchester County, Correct Care Solutions LLC, Correct Care Solutions New York, Dr. Ulloa (“Dr. Ulloa”), N.P. Linda Beyer (“Beyer”), Medical Liaison June Yozzo (“Yozzo”), Nurse Michael Kelly (“Kelly”), and N.P. Tufaro (“Tufaro”) (collectively “Defendants”), alleging that Defendants acted with deliberate indifference to his medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. (Compl. ¶ II.D (Dkt. No. 2).) Plaintiff also alleges that Defendants have engaged in a pattern and practice of deliberate indifference to inmates’ medical needs. (Id.) Before the Court is Defendants’ Motion To Dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (See Mot. To Dismiss (“Mot.”) (Dkt. No. 13).) For the following reasons, Defendants’ Motion is denied.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

The following facts are drawn from Plaintiffs Complaint and the documents attached thereto and are taken as true for the purpose of resolving the instant Motion. Plaintiff was an inmate at Westchester County Jail (“WCJ”). (Compl. ¶ LA.) On February 28, 2012, Plaintiff arrived at WCJ after his discharge from Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, where he was treated for injuries related to a car accident prior to, his arrest. (Id. ¶ II.D.) When he arrived, an intake nurse in the booking department interviewed Plaintiff, and Plaintiff notified her of severe pain in his lower abdomen area. (Id.) The nurse told Plaintiff to write a “sick call” when he arrived at his assigned housing unit and she did not offer Plaintiff medication for his pain. (Id.) When he arrived at his housing unit, Plaintiff wrote to the “sick call department about [the] severe pain in his groin area,” and Plaintiff “was determined to possibl[y] have a hernia [and] was to be seen by a surgeon.” (Id.) Plaintiff was not, however, seen by a surgeon, and accordingly he wrote approximately 15 to 20 “sick calls,” notifying the “sick call department” of his severe pain. (Id.)

In or around June 2012, Plaintiff saw a surgeon, who determined that Plaintiff needed surgery to prevent the further expansion of two growing hernias located in his groin area, and Plaintiff was approved for the required surgery. (Id.) Plaintiff wrote several “sick calls” from June through July 2012 to “investigate the status” of his surgery. (Id.) Because of Plaintiffs severe pain, Beyer saw Plaintiff in June or July 2012, and she told Plaintiff to “stop crying” and that she would “give [him a] belt for [the] hernia [and] if the hernia c[a]me[ ] out in a bulge [he should] just push it back in.” (Id.) Beyer did not offer Plaintiff any medication to relieve his pain. (Id.) Plaintiff continued to follow-up through the “sick call procedure to investigate the status of his scheduled [hernia] operation.” (Id.)

Tufaro called Plaintiff to the “sick call area” and Plaintiff explained that he was in severe pain and inquired about the status of his operation. (Id.) Tufaro told [535]*535Plaintiff that he did not know when he would be called for surgery, and if the hernia “pop[ped] out[,] [he should] just push it back in [and he would] be ok[ay].” (Id.) Tufaro also instructed Plaintiff to write to Yozzo. (Id.) Plaintiff wrote to Yozzo to inform her of his pain and the delay in his surgery. (Id.) When Plaintiff received no response from Yozzo, he submitted a grievance to Sergeant Coletti (“Coletti”). (Id.) Coletti refused to accept Plaintiffs grievance, stating that “we are not medical” and instructed Plaintiff to “mail the grievance to medical.” (Id.) In or around August 2012, Plaintiff attempted to submit the grievance to Sergeant Omess (“Omess”), who told Plaintiff that he was “wasting [his] time.” (Id.)

Plaintiff then wrote to Kelly, complaining about his pain and the delay of his approved surgery. (Id.) Kelly did not respond. (Id.) Yozzo “finally came to [Plaintiffs] housing unit” and informed Plaintiff that she spoke with Dr. Ulloa, the surgery was not going to take place because Plaintiffs injuries were not life threatening, and that he would have to wait until he was transferred to the “New York State prisons or released.” (Id.) Plaintiff explained to Yozzo that he was in severe pain and was at risk for further injury, but she ignored his request for help. (Id.) As of the date of the instant Complaint, Plaintiff has not been offered “any sort of relief except [for] a hernia belt[,] which is not helpful.” (Id.)

Plaintiff alleges that due to Defendants’ conduct he has experienced severe pain, depression, and anxiety, and his hernia has expanded. (Id. ¶ III.) He states that he tried to file grievances, but the “correctional supervisors refused to accept [the grievances], stating [that the issues were] medical[,] not us.” (Id. ¶ IV.F.) Plaintiff claims that he wrote complaints to Kelly and Yozzo, the Westchester County Attorney Robert Meehan, and “the [C]ivil [R]ights [U]nit at 86 [C]hambers [Street]” in New York. (Id. ¶ IV.G.) Plaintiff requests damages for his pain and suffering. (Id. HV.)

Plaintiff attaches a report to the Complaint from the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) dated November 19, 2009 (the “DOJ Report”). (Compl. Ex. 12.) The DOJ Report was completed after the DOJ conducted an on-site inspection at WCJ from February 25-28, 2008 as part of an investigation of WCJ, pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (“CRIPA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1997. (Id. at 1.) The DOJ Report found, among other deficiencies, that WCJ “ha[d] a pattern of failing to ... provide inmates with adequate medical ... care,” which “violate[d] WCJ inmates’ constitutional rights.” (Id. at 7.) As relevant here, the DOJ Report concluded that “[a]lthough WCJ has instituted a policy for submitting grievances, it is not consistently implemented or effectively publicized,” which posed a risk to inmates that perceived that their serious health needs were being unmet. (Id. at 23.)

B. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed the Complaint on January 27, 2014, alleging that Defendants deprived him of medical care and that Westchester County has a pattern and practice of denying inmates adequate medical care. (Dkt. No. 2.) The Court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis on February 4, 2014. (Dkt. No. 3.) Pursuant to a scheduling order adopted at a premotion conference held before the Court on May 16, 2014, (Dkt. No. 12), Defendants filed their Motion To Dismiss and supporting papers on July 1, 2014, (Dkt. Nos. 13-16). Plaintiff did not submit papers in opposition to the Motion.

[536]*536 II. Discussion

A. Applicable Law
1. Standard of Review

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Bluebook (online)
95 F. Supp. 3d 529, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38705, 2015 WL 1379893, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kucharczyk-v-westchester-county-nysd-2015.