(PC) Williams v. Petras

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedAugust 6, 2019
Docket2:19-cv-00605
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Williams v. Petras ((PC) Williams v. Petras) 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) Williams v. Petras, (E.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 THEAUDRA CONRAD WILLIAMS, No. 2:19-cv-0605 KJM DB P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 OGNJEN PETRAS, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se. Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 18 § 1983 and has requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. This 19 proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 20 Plaintiff has submitted a declaration that makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. 21 § 1915(a). Accordingly, the request to proceed in forma pauperis will be granted. 22 Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. 28 U.S.C. 23 §§ 1914(a), 1915(b)(1). By this order, plaintiff will be assessed an initial partial filing fee in 24 accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). By separate order, the court will direct 25 the appropriate agency to collect the initial partial filing fee from plaintiff’s trust account and 26 forward it to the Clerk of the Court. Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments 27 of twenty percent of the preceding month’s income credited to plaintiff’s prison trust account. 28 These payments will be forwarded by the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time 1 the amount in plaintiff’s account exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C. 2 § 1915(b)(2). 3 I. Screening Requirement 4 The in forma pauperis statute provides, “Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion 5 thereof, that may have been paid, the court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court 6 determines that . . . the action or appeal . . . fails to state a claim upon which relief may be 7 granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). 8 II. Pleading Standard 9 Section 1983 “provides a cause of action for the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or 10 immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States.” Wilder v. Virginia Hosp. 11 Ass'n, 496 U.S. 498, 508 (1990) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 1983). Section 1983 is not itself a source of 12 substantive rights, but merely provides a method for vindicating federal rights conferred 13 elsewhere. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 393-94 (1989). 14 To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two essential elements: (1) that a 15 right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated and (2) that the alleged 16 violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. See West v. Atkins, 487 17 U.S. 42, 48 (1988); Ketchum v. Alameda Cnty., 811 F.2d 1243, 1245 (9th Cir. 1987). 18 A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the 19 pleader is entitled to relief . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not 20 required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 21 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell 22 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Plaintiff must set forth “sufficient factual 23 matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. Facial 24 plausibility demands more than the mere possibility that a defendant committed misconduct and, 25 while factual allegations are accepted as true, legal conclusions are not. Id. at 677-78. 26 III. Plaintiff’s Allegations 27 At all relevant times, plaintiff was a state inmate housed at California Medical Facility 28 (“CMF”) in Vacaville, California. He names as defendants Dr. Ognjen Petras, plaintiff’s primary 1 care physician (“PCP”); Dr. Usha Pai, a CMF on-call emergency room doctor; and Registered 2 Nurse (“RN”) Quy Ho, a CMF emergency room nurse. Each defendant is sued in his or her 3 individual capacity. Plaintiff seeks damages for violations of his Eighth Amendment rights. 4 Plaintiff’s allegations may be fairly summarized as follows: 5 Based on plaintiff’s medical records, Dr. Petras diagnosed plaintiff with Type 2 diabetes 6 on September 15, 2017. Plaintiff, however, disputes that he was ever informed of this diagnosis 7 by Dr. Petras or any other CMF physician. He also claims that he was never directed to reduce his 8 carbohydrate intake, and he was never informed of or prescribed any oral diabetes medication that 9 would have been indicated by his hemoglobin A-1 C results. Dr. Petras also failed to monitor 10 plaintiff’s diabetes monthly or to have his blood sugar checked daily. Plaintiff claims Dr. Petras 11 deliberately withheld the diabetes diagnosis. 12 In late-October 2017, plaintiff began experiencing extreme nausea, profuse vomiting, 13 blurred vision, vertigo, and mental confusion for over five consecutive days. He submitted a 14 request for medical care and was seen by Dr. Petras on November 1, 2017. At this appointment, 15 Dr. Petras, despite knowing of plaintiff’s diabetes, failed to conduct any sort of physical 16 examination and/or a quick “finger stick” glucose test that would have revealed plaintiff’s 17 dangerously high blood glucose level. Instead, Dr. Petras diagnosed plaintiff with influenza, 18 provided him with Visine eye drops for the blurred vision, and referred him to the Eyes, Ears, 19 Nose and Throat (“EENT”) clinic. 20 Shortly after midnight on November 5, 2017, a medical emergency alarm was activated 21 after plaintiff was found unresponsive in his living quarters. RN Ho, who completed a “First 22 Medical Responder Assessment Form,” noted that plaintiff was found in a coma and immediately 23 given supplemental oxygen and two injections of Naloxone. When these proved ineffective, 24 plaintiff was transferred to the CMF’s emergency room where RN Ho performed a “finger stick” 25 glucose test that revealed a blood glucose level of 484 (a normal range is from 70-115 mg/dl). 26 This high range suggested Diabetic Ketoacidosis (“DKA”), a life-threatening diabetic coma. RN 27 Ho then performed CPR because plaintiff’s heart stopped. 28 1 Once plaintiff reached the CMF emergency room, Dr. Pia—the on-call emergency room 2 doctor—was called about plaintiff’s condition. Despite the seriousness of it, Dr. Pia refused “to 3 get out of bed” to come to the emergency room and instead “practice[ed] medicine via telephone 4 with defendant HO.” Per plaintiff, Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
(PC) Williams v. Petras, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-williams-v-petras-caed-2019.