Shurb v. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston-School of Medicine

63 F. Supp. 3d 700, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151265, 2014 WL 5429307
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedOctober 24, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 4:13-CV-271
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 63 F. Supp. 3d 700 (Shurb v. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston-School of Medicine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shurb v. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston-School of Medicine, 63 F. Supp. 3d 700, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151265, 2014 WL 5429307 (S.D. Tex. 2014).

Opinion

[703]*703 MEMORANDUN OPINION AND ORDER

KENNETH M. HOYT, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Pending before the Court is the defendants’, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (the “University”), and Dr. Guiseppe N. Colasurdo (“Dr. Colasurdo”), Dr. Margaret C. .McNeese (“Dr. McNeese”) and Patricia E. Caver (“Carver”), in their official capacities, (the “individual defendants”) (collectively, the “defendants”), motion for summary judgment (Dkt. No. 69). The plaintiff, Jason Shurb (the “plaintiff’), has filed a response in opposition to the motion (Dkt. No. 75) and the defendants have filed a reply (Dkt. No. 76). After having carefully considered the motion, response, reply, the record and' the applicable law, the Court determines that the defendants.’ motion for summary judgment should be GRANTED.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

This case concerns treatment that the plaintiff received while he was a medical student at the University. The plaintiff began medical school at the University in the fall of 2009. He claims that he experienced obsessive compulsive disorder, severe anxiety leading to occasional panic attacks, major depressive disorder, and has a history of migraines. He alleges that, due to those medical problems, and upon the advice of University administrators, he participated in the University’s Alternative Pathway program, which splits the first year of medical school into two years.

The plaintiff claims that he is also a visual learner and benefits from visual aids and resources for retaining information and studying for examinations. He alleges that all of his professors, except for Dr. Leonard J. Cleary, his Gross Anatomy professor, provided him access to visual aids, resources, and presentations both inside and outside of the classroom. The plaintiff contends that in the fall of 2010, he sent several emails to Dr. Cleary, requesting access to PowerPoint lecture presentations from the class to provide the visual reinforcement he needed, but Dr. Cleary refused. He claims that Dr. Cleary continued to refuse his request even after he explained that he was a visual learner and had received visual accommodations from other professors.

The plaintiff asserts that in October of 2010, he contacted Dr. Colasurdo, University President and Dean of the medical school, for assistance in obtaining the visual aids, but.Dr. Colasurdo did not respond to his emails. Although Dr. Colasurdo subsequently directed the plaintiff to the Office of Student Affairs, the plaintiff claims that he failed to address his accommodation requests.

The plaintiff alleges that the lack of accommodation caused his anxiety to worsen and he started experiencing blinding migraines. Therefore, he took a medical leave of absence for the fall of 2010, upon the advice of Dr. Sheela L. Lahoti, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs.

The plaintiff contends that the University required him to follow up with his treating psychiatrist, Dr. Joyce Davidson, and to provide a letter from her and/or his other treating physicians that he was fit to resume classes. He alleges that Dr. Davidson subsequently provided a letter clearing him to resume classes the following fall.

According to the plaintiff, after resuming classes in the fall of 2011, he became “severely ill, convulsing, unable to walk without assistance, and unable to drink even water without vomiting.” After visiting a 24-hour Urgent Care Center, the [704]*704plaintiff was admitted to Methodist Hospital. He claims that, while at the hospital, he was required to speak with a psychiatrist other than his own and the treating physician, Dr. Lindsay Waters, falsely accused him of attempting suicide by drinking antifreeze. The plaintiff also asserts that rumors “began to spread to other residents, students, and apparently all the way back to the University, that [he] allegedly inflicted his condition upon himself.” The plaintiff “believes” that Dr. Waters improperly communicated with the University regarding his confidential educational, medical, and mental health records.

The plaintiff alleges that his mother contacted Ms. Caver, the University’s Director of Admissions and Student Affairs, and informed her that he would be in the hospital for an unknown period of time. He claims that the University wished him well and voiced no concerns regarding his absence.

After being released from the hospital, the plaintiff contacted Dr. Lahoti about returning to classes. Dr. Lahoti requested a medical release form and a note from the plaintiffs treating physician. The plaintiff asserts that he provided some documentation about his hospitalization to the University and, believing that he had clearance to do so, attended classes from September 21, 2011 to October 7, 2011.

The plaintiff asserts that on October 7, 2011, he was “abruptly and involuntarily” escorted out of class by a representative from the Office of Student Affairs, where Dr. McNeese, Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs, Dr. Lahoti and Ms. Caver were waiting for him. He claims that the administrators ordered him to submit to the following additional conditions before he could resume classes: (1) disclose his full medical record from the hospital and the 24-hour Urgent Care Center; (2) attend follow-up appointments with his psychiatrist and other treating physicians and provide a certification from his psychiatrist that he was not a danger to himself or others and was fit to resume classes; and (3) execute several authorization forms permitting the University to obtain disclosure of his protected health information. The plaintiff alleges that Dr. McNeese told him the measures were required to protect the faculty and students from him. He “believes” that Dr. Lahoti changed her mind about his clearance to resume classes because of, inter alia, an “unauthorized contact from the Hospital stating something untrue or misleading.”

On October 10, 2011, the plaintiff and his mother met with Dr. McNeese, Dr. Lahoti, and Ms. Caver. The plaintiff claims that once his mother took out a tape recorder in an effort to record the meeting, the administrators refused to continue the meeting without legal representation, which was unavailable at the time. The plaintiff claims that he and his mother then met with Dr. Colasurdo who informed them that he left “such situations to the Student Affairs Office” and instructed his assistant to arrange a meeting with the University’s legal counsel.

The plaintiff contends that on October 11, 2011, he and his mother met with Attorney David Jenkins from the University’s Office of Legal Affairs. The plaintiff claims that when Attorney Jenkins was informed of the “full medical record disclosure” condition that was placed upon him, Jenkins “seemed surprised” and said there must have been some misunderstanding. Jenkins then instructed the plaintiff to obtain a discharge summary from the hospital and a report from his psychiatrist that he was not a danger to himself or others before resuming classes. The plaintiff admits that he did not provide the requested information, but claims that he believed it was a violation of his rights and was unreasonable and “grossly overbroad.”

[705]

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63 F. Supp. 3d 700, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151265, 2014 WL 5429307, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shurb-v-university-of-texas-health-science-center-at-houston-school-of-txsd-2014.