Mosby v. Cavey

686 F. Supp. 2d 868, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10325, 2010 WL 430809
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedFebruary 5, 2010
Docket08-cv-677-bbc
StatusPublished

This text of 686 F. Supp. 2d 868 (Mosby v. Cavey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mosby v. Cavey, 686 F. Supp. 2d 868, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10325, 2010 WL 430809 (W.D. Wis. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

BARBARA B. CRABB, District Judge.

Plaintiff Willie Mosby is proceeding on his claim that defendants were deliberately indifferent to his serious dental needs in late 2006 and early 2007. Jurisdiction is present. 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Defendants have filed a motion for summary judgment. Dkt. # 42. I conclude that there are genuine issues of material fact that preclude granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

Before getting into the facts, three additional matters require attention. First, defendants have filed a motion to stay pretrial proceedings, dkt. # 80. They contend that a decision on their summary judgment motion will resolve all claims, making further trial preparation unnecessary. However, as this opinion explains, their summary judgment motion will be denied; a trial is necessary to resolve plaintiffs claims. Accordingly, defendants’ motion to stay pretrial proceedings will be denied.

Second, plaintiff contends that all findings of fact regarding his March 25, 2006 through August 14, 2006 incarceration at the Dane County jail are immaterial and irrelevant to this case. Pit’s Resp. to Defs.’ PFOF, dkt. # 70, at 2. I disagree. Plaintiffs dental health during his previous incarceration is relevant and material to defendants’ knowledge of plaintiffs dental health needs as well as to the seriousness of his dental health needs. Accordingly, I will consider findings of fact concerning plaintiffs wisdom tooth that are based on evidence from dental records created prior to his October 15, 2006 incarceration.

Third, defendants failed to respond to plaintiffs proposed findings of fact. Dkt. # 69. The consequence of such a failure was explained in an attachment to the preliminary pretrial conference order: “A fact properly proposed by one side will be accepted by the court as undisputed unless the other side properly responds to the proposed fact and establishes that it is in dispute.” Dkt. # 34, at 14 ¶ 3. This is reiterated in the memorandum to pro se litigants, which notes that “[i]f a party fails to respond to a fact proposed by the opposing party, the court will accept the opposing party’s proposed fact as undisputed.” Id. at 16. Accordingly, I will accept plaintiffs proposed findings of fact as undisputed.

From the parties’ proposed facts, I find that the following facts are material and undisputed.

UNDISPUTED FACTS

A. Parties

At all times relevant to this ease, plaintiff Willie Mosby was a pre-trial detainee confined at the Dane County jail awaiting a parole hearing and trial on criminal charges; defendants Susan Burkeheimer, Susanna Rushford and Julie Cavey were employed as nurses at the jail; and defendants James Wommack and Curt Silberschmidt were employed as dentists at the jail.

B. Plaintiffs Initial Tooth Problems

On March 26, 2006, plaintiff was transferred from the Dodge Correctional Facility to the Dane County jail. At intake, plaintiff complained of pain from a lower erupted wisdom tooth. He was prescribed 600 mgs of ibuprofen, three times a day.

*871 On June 28, 2006, defendant Wommack examined plaintiffs teeth and noted that he had an erupted lower left wisdom tooth, that is, the no. 17 tooth. There was no swelling or exudate to indicate that the tooth was infected. Wommack advised plaintiff to see an oral surgeon about the tooth after his release from jail. Wommack prescribed 800 mgs of ibuprofen for seven days for any pain and Amoxicillin as a prophylactic antibiotic to prevent the development of pericoronitis (an infection of the gum around the wisdom tooth). Pericoronitis is a possible complication occurring with an impacted wisdom tooth and is often the result of improper dental hygiene.

Having an impacted wisdom tooth does not mean that the patient is suffering from a dental emergency requiring immediate removal of a wisdom tooth. Wommack has seen patients who have impacted wisdom teeth that do not require removal for many years. An impacted wisdom tooth becomes an emergent condition when the tooth itself becomes infected, when the tooth causes damage to the surrounding tissues or when the tooth pain becomes significant. In June 2006, plaintiffs impacted wisdom tooth did not represent an emergent condition.

On July 10, 2006, plaintiff filed a medical request about his wisdom tooth, asking about oral surgery. Plaintiff was placed on the list to see a dentist. He was also told that the jail did not pay for oral surgeons and asked whether he could pay for the costs of oral surgery. Plaintiff saw defendant Wommack the next day and insisted on seeing an oral surgeon for his impacted wisdom tooth. Wommack explained that inmates were not usually referred to oral surgeons, except in emergency circumstances. Wommack again examined plaintiffs impacted wisdom tooth and determined that there were no symptoms that required immediate treatment. Wommack recommended that plaintiff see an oral surgeon when he was released from jail.

On August 1, 2006, defendant Silberschmidt examined plaintiff at the jail. Plaintiff complained that his wisdom tooth was sore. Silberschmidt prescribed 750 mgs of Amoxicillin, twice daily for ten days. Plaintiff asked to see an oral surgeon but Silberschmidt believed that the tooth did not require surgery. On August 14, 2006, plaintiff was released from the jail.

C. Plaintiff’s Return to the Dane County Jail

On October 15, 2006, plaintiff was imprisoned at the Dane County jail. He did not identify any dental problems during medical triage. His only complaint was a headache for which he was given ibuprofen. Between August 14, 2006 and October 15, 2006, plaintiff had not obtained any treatment for his impacted wisdom tooth because there was no indication that he needed either routine or emergency dental care.

On November 3, 2006, plaintiff submitted a medical slip complaining of a toothache for over a week and migraine headaches for a couple of days. On November 6, a nurse examined plaintiff and noted that his no. 17 tooth appeared fractured. Defendant Rushford placed plaintiff on the sick-call list and prescribed 400 mgs of ibuprofen, two times a day for five days. On November 7, defendant Silberschmidt examined plaintiffs impacted wisdom tooth, noting that there was swelling around the tooth and that plaintiff had developed pericoronitis. Plaintiff asked Silberschmidt to pull the tooth, but he said that it was beyond his practice and that such an extraction would require an oral surgeon. Plaintiff then asked to be referred to an oral surgeon, but Silber *872 schmidt said that he was not permitted to make such a referral. Silberschmidt prescribed pain medication and antibiotics for ten days to clear up the infection, and he scheduled a return visit for the following-week.

On November 15, 2006, defendant Wommack examined plaintiffs tooth and found that the pain and infection had improved. Plaintiff asked Wommack to extract his wisdom tooth, but Wommack declined, explaining that plaintiff would need to see an oral surgeon upon release to have tooth pulled.

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Bluebook (online)
686 F. Supp. 2d 868, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10325, 2010 WL 430809, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mosby-v-cavey-wiwd-2010.