Singletary v. Russo

377 F. Supp. 3d 175
District Court, E.D. New York·Decided February 22, 2019·No. 13-cv-04727 (ENV) (LB)·Published·Cited by 18 cases

Opinion

II. Deprivation of Adequate Medical Care

Plaintiff's claim arises from defendants' alleged "deliberate indifference to [his] serious medical needs." Opp'n at 7. Such a claim is subject to a two-pronged analysis. First, an objective prong of the test requires that "the alleged deprivation of adequate medical care must be 'sufficiently serious.' " Salahuddin v. Goord , 467 F.3d 263, 279 (2d Cir. 2006) (quoting Farmer v. Brennan , 511 U.S. 825, 834, 114 S.Ct. 1970, 128 L.Ed.2d 811 (1994) ).2 Second, a subjective prong of the test requires plaintiff to show that defendants "acted intentionally to impose the alleged condition, or recklessly failed to act with reasonable care to mitigate the risk that the *188condition posed to [him] even though [they] knew, or should have known, that the condition posed an excessive risk to health or safety." Darnell , 849 F.3d at 35. The Court examines these prongs sequentially.

a. Objective Prong

The objective prong of the inquiry is itself divided into two inquiries. "The first inquiry is whether the prisoner was actually deprived of adequate medical care." Salahuddin , 467 F.3d at 279. The second inquiry "asks whether the inadequacy in medical care [was] sufficiently serious." Id. at 280.

i. Actual Deprivation

With regard to whether plaintiff suffered an actual deprivation, "the prison official's duty is only to provide reasonable care." Id. at 279 (citing Farmer , 511 U.S. at 844-47, 114 S.Ct. 1970 ). "[P]rison officials who act reasonably ... cannot be found liable," Farmer , 511 U.S. at 845, 114 S.Ct. 1970, but "failing 'to take reasonable measures' in response to a medical condition can lead to liability," Salahuddin , 467 F.3d at 280 (quoting Farmer , 511 U.S. at 847, 114 S.Ct. 1970 ). Therefore, the issue is whether defendants provided reasonable care here, a question that is disputed by the parties' conflicting expert reports.

Plaintiff claims that he was first deprived of a constitutionally protected right when defendants failed to refer him to a specialist between April 8, 2013 and May 7, 2013. As noted above, Singletary has not shown that Dr. Geraci had sufficient personal involvement to face liability, given that Dr. Geraci never treated him during this period of time. Although Dr. Russo may have been personally involved, insofar as he treated Singletary and waited one month before referring him to a specialist, this does not constitute a deprivation of care. Each party relies on a single expert report opining as to whether this failure constituted a deprivation of care. Singletary's expert, Dr. Stuart I. Finkel, makes only the general claim that "[a]s [Singletary's] treating physician, it was [Dr. Russo's] obligation to ensure ... that his patient was referred for necessary and appropriate medical care, including timely consultations with the appropriate specialist(s)." Decl. of Stuart I. Finkel at 6 (ECF No. 73-31, at 9) ("Finkel Decl."). Contrarily, defendants' expert, Dr. Frank T. Sconzo, speaks specifically to the one-month delay, from April to May, in referring Singletary to a specialist. Dr. Sconzo opines that after Singletary's JMU visit, in April 2013, "no urgent treatment [was] needed." Decl. of Frank. T. Sconzo at 1 (ECF No. 73-49, at 1) ("Sconzo Decl."). In light of the parties' sole reliance on these reports, a reasonable jury could not find that a one-month delay in referring Singletary to a specialist constituted a deprivation of adequate medical care. Although Dr. Finkel explained that Dr. Russo was bound to refer Singletary to a specialist in a timely fashion when necessary, he did not conclude that Singletary needed urgent care as of April 8, 2013 or that a one-month delay was a failing of constitutional magnitude. Plaintiff has not produced evidence to meet defendants' showing, and defendants are thus entitled to summary judgment with respect to this alleged deprivation.

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Singletary v. Russo, 377 F. Supp. 3d 175 (E.D.N.Y. 2019).

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