Roy David Kinard, III v. The Florida Department of Corrections

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedNovember 14, 2024
Docket24-10359
StatusUnpublished

This text of Roy David Kinard, III v. The Florida Department of Corrections (Roy David Kinard, III v. The Florida Department of Corrections) 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
Roy David Kinard, III v. The Florida Department of Corrections, (11th Cir. 2024).

Opinion

USCA11 Case: 24-10359 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 11/14/2024 Page: 1 of 18

[DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 24-10359 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

ROY DAVID KINARD, III, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, an agency of the state of Florida, CENTURION OF FLORIDA, LLC, SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, DOCTOR LLORENS,

Defendants-Appellees.

____________________ USCA11 Case: 24-10359 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 11/14/2024 Page: 2 of 18

2 Opinion of the Court 24-10359

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 3:22-cv-00897-MMH-JBT ____________________

Before WILSON, JILL PRYOR, and LUCK, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Roy David Kinard, a Florida prisoner, fractured his foot while incarcerated. He sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that prison officials failed to provide him with adequate medical care. He also alleged that his injury left him disabled and unable to ob- tain meaningful access to the prison’s programs and services, in- cluding recreational activities. The defendants included Dr. Asbelti Llorens Cordero, the prison doctor who treated Kinard, whom Ki- nard alleged was deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Kinard also sued the Florida Department of Corrections, alleging that it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) as well as the Rehabilita- tion Act by failing to accommodate his disability. The district court concluded that Kinard failed to state a claim for relief and dismissed the action. After careful review, we agree with the district court that Kinard failed to state a claim against Cordero under § 1983. But as to the ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims against the Department, we conclude that Kinard stated a claim for relief. The Department nevertheless asks us to affirm because Kinard failed to exhaust his USCA11 Case: 24-10359 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 11/14/2024 Page: 3 of 18

24-10359 Opinion of the Court 3

administrative remedies. Although the Department raised the ex- haustion issue in the district court, the court did not notify Kinard that he had an opportunity to submit evidence regarding exhaus- tion. We remand the case so that the district court, after giving Ki- nard an opportunity to develop the record on exhaustion, may con- sider the Department’s exhaustion defense. Accordingly, we affirm in part and vacate and remand in part. I. On March 24, 2022, while incarcerated at Union Correc- tional Institution in Florida, Kinard allegedly slipped on a puddle of water and injured his left foot. Although he was able to get up after the fall, he was in serious pain. His foot began to swell and “turn to a blood red.” Doc. 33 at 8. 1 Although corrections officers who worked on Kinard’s housing unit knew about his injury, they did not seek any medical care for him. Three days later, Kinard, who could barely walk, requested medical care. He was finally seen by a medical provider on April 7, two weeks after he was injured. When a nurse saw Kinard’s black and red foot, she told him that his injury should have been treated as a medical emergency. The doctor on duty gave Kinard crutches and ibuprofen and said that his foot would be x-rayed. Several days passed, but no x-rays were taken of Kinard’s foot. On April 12, he again requested medical care. That day, he was seen by Cordero and a nurse. Cordero wrapped Kinard’s foot

1 “Doc.” numbers refer to the district court’s docket entries. USCA11 Case: 24-10359 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 11/14/2024 Page: 4 of 18

4 Opinion of the Court 24-10359

in an ace bandage and gave him a pass that allowed him to be on bed rest and use crutches for two weeks. A few days later, Kinard’s foot was x-rayed. After the x-rays were taken, Kinard heard nothing from the medical staff. On April 27, the pass allowing him to use crutches and remain on bed rest expired. He was required to return to work. To get to his job, he had to walk almost half a mile. Because of the walking, Kinard’s foot swelled up, and he was in excruciating pain. On May 18, more than a month after the x-rays were taken, Cordero saw Kinard for a second time. Cordero told him that the x-rays showed no fracture and only a minor sprain. Although Ki- nard complained that his foot remained swollen, inflamed, discol- ored, and painful, Cordero told him that the x-rays showed his foot was fine. Cordero refused to give him any pain medicine and said it was time for him to go back to work. Kinard’s pain persisted. On May 31, he was brought to the prison’s medical center for another round of x-rays. Three days later, Cordero saw Kinard for a third time. Cordero told him that the new x-rays showed that his foot was frac- tured. Cordero explained that because of the delay in diagnosing the fracture, it would take at least six months for Kinard’s foot to heal. Cordero told Kinard that he made a request for Kinard to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon but advised that “because of the time frame of the fracture there is nothing they can do.” Id. at 11. Kinard asked for pain medication and a pass to miss work. Cordero refused these requests. USCA11 Case: 24-10359 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 11/14/2024 Page: 5 of 18

24-10359 Opinion of the Court 5

A week later, on June 10, Cordero saw Kinard for a fourth time. Cordero told him that he would be given an air cast and eval- uated again in three to six weeks. Kinard asked why he had not seen an orthopedic surgeon. Cordero explained that he had consulted with an orthopedic surgeon who said that Kinard’s fracture would heal with time. Later that day, a nurse came to Kinard’s dormitory with an air cast. The cast was uninflated, however, and the nurse did not bring an air canister with her. She promised Kinard that she would put air in his cast the following week. But the cast was not filled with air. Without being filled with air, the cast offered no support for Kinard’s injured foot. Around this time, Kinard requested a copy of his prison med- ical records. The records showed that Cordero had issued a series of passes directing that Kinard should pull or lift no more than 15 pounds and stand for no more than ten minutes. He also had directed that Kinard be given a lower bunk and an adaptive device. But until Kinard requested his medical records, he was not told about the passes and had not received the accommodations. On July 8, Cordero saw Kinard for a fifth time. Cordero told him that his foot was not healing correctly and he needed to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon. Cordero prescribed ibuprofen. Ki- nard requested air for the cast, questioning “the point of having an air cast with no air,” and suggested that the prison medical staff had “given him the air cast to cover their mistake.” Id. at 13. Cordero did not respond to Kinard’s question and comments. USCA11 Case: 24-10359 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 11/14/2024 Page: 6 of 18

6 Opinion of the Court 24-10359

After this appointment, Kinard continued to walk around the prison with an uninflated air cast. Although he continued to have difficulty walking, he was required to report to work. He was told that if he did not go to work, he “would be put in confine- ment.” Id. at 14. Approximately one month after his fifth appointment with Cordero, Kinard, proceeding pro se, filed suit in federal district court. He sued Cordero and the Department. 2 In the operative complaint, Kinard brought a § 1983 claim against Cordero. He alleged that Cordero “exhibited deliberate[] indifference to [his] serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment” when Cordero “intentionally delayed . . .

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Roy David Kinard, III v. The Florida Department of Corrections, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roy-david-kinard-iii-v-the-florida-department-of-corrections-ca11-2024.