Rudigier v. St. Francois County

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedSeptember 6, 2023
Docket4:22-cv-01103
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Rudigier v. St. Francois County, (E.D. Mo. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION

STEFANI RUDIGER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No. 4:22 CV 1103 RWS ) ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, ) MISSOURI, ) ) HEATHER SMITH, LPN in her ) individual capacity, ) ) ADVANCED CORRECTIONAL ) HEALTHCARE, Inc., and ) ) SHERIFF DANIEL BULLOCK, ) in his official capacity as Sheriff of ) the St. Francois County Sheriff’s ) Department, ) ) Defendants, )

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff Stefani Rudigier was a pretrial detainee at the St. Francois County Jail in Farmington, Missouri. In her complaint she alleges that the jail nurse at that facility was deliberately indifferent to her serious medical needs in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.1 She asserts this

1 Rudigier’s complaint includes many allegations of unhygienic and overcrowding conditions at the jail. These allegations are the subject of a separate class action lawsuit. constitutional claim against the nurse, Advance Correctional Healthcare, and St. Francois County under 42 U.S.C § 1983. She also asserts claims against the nurse,

St. Francois County, and Sheriff Daniel Bullock under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.2 and under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (RA), 29 U.S.C. § 794. All of the defendants have filed

motions to dismiss for a failure to state a claim. Because I find that Rudigier has alleged sufficient facts in her complaint to state a claim against the jail nurse in Counts II and III I will deny the nurse’s motion to dismiss as to those counts. I will grant St. Francois County’s motion to dismiss Counts I, II, and III. I will grant

Defendant Sheriff Daniel Bullock and Defendant Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Inc.s motions to dismiss. Background

Defendant St. Francois County is a political subdivision of the State of Missouri and is responsible for the actions, policies, and procedures of the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office. Defendant Sheriff Daniel Bullock was the Sheriff of St. Francois County during the relevant time period. Bullock is

responsible for the employees, actions, policies, and procedures of the St. Francois County Jail. St. Francois County receives federal funds to assist with jail

2 The ADA was amended by Congress in 2008, referred to as the ADAA. The amendment directed that the term disability should be construed broadly. See ADAA, Pub.L. No. 110-325, § 2(b)(4), 122 Stat. 3553, 3554 (2008). operations, including funds to house federal detainees. Defendant Heather Smith is a St. Francois County employee working as a Licensed Practice Nurse at the jail.

Defendant Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Inc. (ACH) is an Illinois corporation that contracted with St. Francois County to provide medical services at the jail including providing a physician or mid-level practitioner to visit the jail weekly

and to be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure detainees receive adequate medical care. Dr. Charles Pewitt was the physician assigned by ACH to visit the facility. Rudigier was a pretrial detainee at the St. Francois County Jail from March

5, 2017 through March 3, 2019.3 Rudigier alleges in her complaint that upon being processed into the jail Rudigier informed booking employee, Ashley Bates, that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression. Rudigier

alleges Bates “requested no assistance, no medical or disability evaluation or accommodations” for Rudigier when she was booked into the jail. Rudigier alleges that she did not receive any medication for her bipolar disorder throughout her incarceration at the jail. She alleges that she made several requests for medical

care for her bipolar disorder but did not receive any care for that condition.

3 Rudigier was also incarcerated at the jail from December 4, 2019 through January 9, 2020. Her complaint does not assert any claims regarding this time period. Rudigier alleges that despite informing jail employees of her anxiety and depression when she entered the jail in March 2018, she did not receive any

medication for those conditions until sometime late in 2018. She did not see or speak with a physician or mental health professional prior to receiving her medications. Prior to receiving her medications Rudigier alleges that she

experienced acute mental health symptoms and frequently “found herself in tears.” Rudigier alleges that she made verbal and oral requests to jail nurse Heather Smith for assistance for her mental health issues but her requests were “largely ignored.” She alleges that other correctional staff members observed a “number of the mental

health crises” but ignored her or punished her by locking her in her cell or sending her to “the hole.” Rudigier also claims that she received inadequate care for another serious

medical need. In March 2018, she began experiencing severe abdominal pain and an unusual vaginal discharge. She requested assistance from Smith who prescribed antibiotics. When these symptoms failed to abate, Smith prescribed a course of a different antibiotic. The second round of antibiotics did not alleviate Rudigier’s

persistent symptoms. Five months later, after continued complaints to Smith about her condition, Smith prescribed yet another round of antibiotics. These did not work and Rudigier told Smith she was continuing to experience abdominal pain.

Fearing there could be something wrong with her bladder and kidneys Rudigier requested a medical evaluation and gave Smith urine sample. Smith did not share Rudigier’s test results with Rudigier but Smith did give Rudigier a fourth round of

antibiotics. The antibiotic failed to work so Smith extended the antibiotics for another three days. Rudigier’s pain and discomfort persisted and, in January 2019, Smith prescribed a fifth round of antibiotics. Rudigier left the jail two months later

and was finally able to see a physician. She was diagnosed with a gallbladder issue that required emergency surgery. In June 2019, Rudigier was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that she attributes to her experience at the jail.4 In Count I of her complaint Rudigier asserts an ADA claim and a

Rehabilitation Act claim under Section 504 against St. Francois County, Bullock, and Smith. In Court II, Rudigier asserts a claim under the Fourteenth Amendment alleging that St. Francis County and Smith were deliberately indifferent to her

serious medical needs based on the failure to treat her bipolar disorder, her depression, and her anxiety. In Count III, Rudigier asserts a claim under the Fourteenth Amendment alleging that St. Francis County, Smith, and Advanced Correctional Healthcare were deliberately indifferent to her serious medical needs

based on the failure to treat her persistent abdominal pain. All of the Defendants have filed motions to dismiss for failing to state a claim.

4 Rudigier also alleges that the jail failed to provide her and other women with menstrual products and she was forced to bleed on herself and her clothes during her monthly menstrual cycle. Legal Standard When ruling on a motion to dismiss, I must accept as true all factual

allegations in the complaint and view them in light most favorable to the Plaintiff. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6); Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89

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