(PC) Rilurcasa v. State of California

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedJune 27, 2022
Docket1:20-cv-01568
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Rilurcasa v. State of California ((PC) Rilurcasa v. State of California) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
(PC) Rilurcasa v. State of California, (E.D. Cal. 2022).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 TOM JON RILURCASA, ) Case No.: 1:20-cv-01568-JLT-SAB (PC) ) 12 Plaintiff, ) ) ORDER ADOPTING FINDINGS AND 13 v. ) RECOMMENDATIONS

14 STATE OF CALIFORNIA, et al., ) (Doc. 23) )

15 Defendants. ) ) 16 )

17 I. Introduction 18 The assigned magistrate judge issued findings and recommendations that the instant action 19 proceed on Plaintiff’s Americans with Disabilities Act claim against Defendant Warden Stu Sherman 20 in his official capacity and that all other claims and Defendants be dismissed without leave to amend. 21 (Doc. 23.) After receiving an extension of time, Plaintiff filed objections on November 19, 2021. 22 (Doc. 28.) 23 According to 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(C), the Court has conducted a de novo review of the case. 24 Having carefully reviewed the entire file, including Plaintiff’s objections, the Court concludes that the 25 magistrate judge’s findings and recommendations are supported by the record and by proper analysis. 26 II. Discussion 27 A. Eighth Amendment Claim 28 Plaintiff’s primary objection relates to his Eighth Amendment claim. (See generally Doc. 28.) 1 To state a cognizable Eighth Amendment inadequate medical care claim, a plaintiff must allege “acts 2 or omissions sufficiently harmful to evidence deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.” Estelle 3 v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976). The findings and recommendations conclude that Plaintiff’s 4 allegations of deliberate indifference are conclusory and lack sufficient factual detail to suggest that 5 any Defendant denied treatment or acted with the requisite culpable mental state. (Doc. 23 at 6.)1 6 Plaintiff’s objections do not meaningfully challenge the magistrate judge’s finding that his deliberate 7 indifference claims are conclusory. Rather, Plaintiff argues that his ongoing knee and shoulder pain 8 constitute a serious medical need. (See Doc. 28 at 2-3.) 9 1. Serious Medical Need 10 A serious medical need exists when “failure to treat the injury or condition ‘could result in 11 further significant injury’ or cause ‘the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain.’” Colwell v. 12 Bannister, 763 F.3d 1060, 1066 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting Jett v. Penner, 439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 13 2006)). Indications of a serious medical need include “[t]he existence of an injury that a reasonable 14 doctor or patient would find important and worthy of comment or treatment; the presence of a medical 15 condition that significantly affects an individual’s daily activities; or the existence of chronic and 16 substantial pain.” Id. (quoting McGuckin v. Smith, 974 F.2d 1050, 1059-60 (9th Cir. 1992), overruled 17 in part on other grounds by WMX Techs., Inc. v. Miller, 104 F.3d 1133 (9th Cir. 1997) (en banc)). 18 Plaintiff alleges that his chronic knee and shoulder pain constitutes a serious medical need. See 19 Jackson v. Pompan, 2014 WL 2085353, at *3 (N.D. Cal. May 19, 2014) (“[C]hronic knee pain that 20 turned out to include an ACL tear suffices to permit a jury to find the existence of objectively serious 21 medical needs.”); Gonzalez v. Runnels, 2010 WL 3629843, at *5 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 14, 2010), aff’d, 451 22 F. App’x 664 (9th Cir. 2011) (“evidence that [plaintiff] complained of shoulder pain occasionally 23 might allow a reasonable jury to conclude that the shoulder pain amounted to an objectively serious 24

25 1 The findings and recommendations state Plaintiff alleged he did not receive pain medication from certain Defendants. (See Doc. 23 at 5-6.) Plaintiff’s complaint alleges he did not receive proper pain medication from Defendants Kim, Brown, 26 Laufik, Troup, Griffith, Mbadugha, Oberst, Ratliff, Fajardo, Roberts, Moreno, S. Gome, and D. Roberts. (Doc. 21 at 22, 25, 29, 33, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 59, 63, 67.) The Court cannot tell if he is alleging that he received no pain medication or 27 if he found the medication provided to be insufficient. Furthermore, though the complaint asserts deliberate indifference claims against Defendant Sherman, the findings and recommendations do not squarely address those claims. However, 28 1 medical condition”). Furthermore, Plaintiff’s allegations of chronic and substantial pain that doctors 2 found worthy of treatment are alone sufficient to state a claim. Id. (citing McGuckin, 974 F.2d at 1059- 3 60); Colwell, 763 F.3d at 1066. Plaintiff’s health care request forms indicate that he was experiencing 4 significant pain in his knee from May to at least October of 2019. (See Doc. 21 at 76, 104-07, 109, 5 111, 114.) Also, Plaintiff alleges that his knee pain is ongoing. (See id. at 2-3.) Plaintiff’s health care 6 requests forms and appeal also expressed his ongoing shoulder pain, which has allegedly persisted 7 since 2014 or 2015. (See id. at 98, 110, 112.) Therefore, Plaintiff plausibly alleges a serious medical 8 need. 9 2. Deliberate Indifference 10 The deficiencies in Plaintiff’s complaint arise under the deliberate indifference prong. A prison 11 official must have subjective knowledge of an excessive risk to inmate health or safety and the official 12 must disregard that risk. See Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 837 (1994) (“[T]he official must both 13 be aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm 14 exists, and he must also draw the inference.”). Mere negligence is not sufficient. Estelle, 429 U.S. at 15 106; see also Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 319 (1986) (“To be cruel and unusual punishment, 16 conduct that does not purport to be punishment at all must involve more than ordinary lack of due care 17 for the prisoner’s interests or safety.”); Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 297 (1991) (defendant must 18 have a “sufficiently culpable state of mind”); McGuckin, 974 F.2d at 1060 (“A defendant must 19 purposefully ignore or fail to respond to a prisoner’s pain or possible medical need in order for 20 deliberate indifference to be established.”). 21 Plaintiff includes numerous health care request forms, appeals, and other documentation with 22 his second amended complaint. The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s complaint and the documents 23 attached therewith to liberally construe Plaintiff’s allegations. In so doing, Plaintiff appears to allege 24 primarily an Eighth Amendment claim for the delay in receiving right knee and right shoulder surgery. 25 (See Doc. 21 at 87.) Delay of surgery may constitute deliberate indifference if the delay causes further 26 27 28 1 harm.2 Shapley v. Nevada Bd. of State Prison Comm’rs, 766 F.2d 404, 407 (9th Cir. 1985). Because 2 Plaintiff conflates the medical history as to his respective injuries, the Court will separate the two. 3 a. Knee 4 As to his knee, it is alleged that Plaintiff was injured on May 4, 2019 and submitted a health 5 care request form3 on May 5, 2019. (Doc. 21 at 76, 104.) It appears Plaintiff was seen by Defendant 6 Ratliff on May 6, 2019, who reported Plaintiff’s pain as 9 out of 10. (Id. at 104.) An X-ray was 7 performed on May 8, 2019, and Plaintiff was told the results were normal. (Id.

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Related

Estelle v. Gamble
429 U.S. 97 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Whitley v. Albers
475 U.S. 312 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Wilson v. Seiter
501 U.S. 294 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
John C. McGuckin v. Dr. Smith John C. Medlen, Dr.
974 F.2d 1050 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Farmer v. Brennan
511 U.S. 825 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Moss v. U.S. Secret Service
572 F.3d 962 (Ninth Circuit, 2009)
John Colwell v. Robert Bannister
763 F.3d 1060 (Ninth Circuit, 2014)
Roesevelt Hayes v. R. Clark
22 F. App'x 664 (Eighth Circuit, 2001)
Fleet Hamby v. Steven Hammond
821 F.3d 1085 (Ninth Circuit, 2016)
Adree Edmo v. Corizon, Inc.
935 F.3d 757 (Ninth Circuit, 2019)

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(PC) Rilurcasa v. State of California, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-rilurcasa-v-state-of-california-caed-2022.