Sours v. Big Sandy Regional Jail Authority

593 F. App'x 478
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedDecember 5, 2014
Docket13-6370
StatusUnpublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 593 F. App'x 478 (Sours v. Big Sandy Regional Jail Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sours v. Big Sandy Regional Jail Authority, 593 F. App'x 478 (6th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge.

James Sours, a diabetic, was admitted to the Big Sandy Regional Jail on July 13, 2010, and died two days later of diabetic ketoacidosis, a preventable complication of diabetes. Plaintiff William Sours, the administrator of his brother James’s estate, brought claims against jail personnel alleging deliberate indifference under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state-law negligence. Summary judgment was granted on all relevant claims. As to all claims against Nurse Allison, we REVERSE the summary judgment granted to her by the district court and remand her case for trial. *480 As to the claims against the remaining defendants, the district court’s grant of summary judgment is AFFIRMED.

I. FACTUAL RECORD

James Sours, a pretrial detainee, was admitted to the Big Sandy Regional Jail on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 13, 2010, with a blood sugar level of 274 mg/dl. In early adulthood, Sours had been diagnosed with Type I diabetes mellitus. By the end of the day on Thursday, July 15, Sours was dead from diabetic ketoacidosis, with a blood sugar level of 1629 mg/dl. 1 Much happened in the two day interval. But what did not happen was the acquisition or administration of insulin to Sours.

At the time of Sours’s admission, the only medical professional at the Jail was Nancy Allison, the jail house nurse. The intake officer sent Sours to her, because Sours said he was diabetic and did not have his insulin with him. Allison provided insulin and medical care for other diabetics in the jail, and she herself is diabetic.

Nurse Allison first saw Sours at 8:15 pm on July 13. Sours told her that he was diabetic, that he had liver problems, high blood pressure, had not seen his doctor in two months, and “[w]as in Highlands about ? one month ago for diabetes.” He informed her that he had not taken his insulin for over a month and that he was out of insulin. Allison’s notes state that Sours did not take his insulin, but she also wrote that he took Novolog and Lantus— forms of insulin that act within 30 minutes to 2 hours — and that he was on a “sliding scale” but gets confused at times and “is not sure when & if he has taken insulin.” A sliding scale is a chart that shows how much insulin a particular diabetic should take depending on his blood sugar level throughout the day. Allison also noted that Sours said he did not have anyone to bring his insulin bottles and that he “[s]ays he is not capable of caring for himself.”

When checking Sours’s blood, Allison noted that his blood sugar was 274 mg/dl and shortly afterward was 283 mg/dl, well above the normal range of 65-100 mg/dl. Allison admitted that this was “a little high.” Plaintiff’s medical expert, however, said this was “quite high and definitely indicating the need for insulin treatment.” Despite Sours’s statement that he had not been taking drugs, Allison said she believed that Sours was detoxing from something, and that this can cause blood sugar levels to increase. She, however, failed to ask Sours if he had recently consumed alcohol and could not account for why she did not do so. She faxed her progress note to Dr. Sarah Belhasen that night. Allison neither administered insulin kept at the jail to Sours nor tried to order insulin for him, which was available through overnight mail. Instead, she instituted a standing order to put Sours on a special diet and planned to have the deputy jailers monitor his blood sugar.

The next morning, Wednesday, July 14, at 6:00 am, Nurse Allison checked Sours’s blood sugar again, and it was 254 mg/dl. Allison knew that ketoacidosis was a life-threatening risk, but she was satisfied that *481 Sours’s blood sugar level was lower than the night before. Around noon, Dr. Belha-sen reviewed the progress notes on Sours from the previous day, which indicated to her that Sours was diabetic, hypertensive, and “clearly a sick man.” Dr. Belhasen faxed back a response diagnosing Sours with diabetes and saying that she would see Sours on her next visit in four or five days, by which time she wanted blood work done. Dr. Belhasen stated that she was not concerned about seeing Sours right away because she had previously prepared a sliding scale that the nurse could use to determine how much insulin to give to new diabetic inmates until she could get them on regular maintenance. It was her understanding that Allison would use the standard sliding scale to administer insulin kept at the jail or call Sours’s pharmacy to obtain his regular insulin until the consultation.

Around 3:00 pm that day, Nurse Allison again saw Sours. She noted that Sours refused to have his blood sugar tested when requested by Deputy Jailer Robert Salyer, but he agreed after Allison encouraged him; his reading was 327 mg/dl. Dr. Belhasen was never made aware that Sours’s blood sugar rose to 327 mg/dl but asserts that if she had, she would have told Allison to contact Sours’s pharmacy to find out his regular insulin dose and to administer insulin immediately.

Little more than an hour after Sours was returned to his cell, guards again called Allison, informing her that he was acting up, giving the guards a “rough time.” Allison had Sours brought back to her office where he appeared to be angry and said that he wanted to go home. She believed he was probably detoxing and he complained of nausea and vomiting and had tremors. Allison admits that nausea, chest pain, and confusion are all signs of ketoacidosis, but said that she still did not believe Sours was at risk. According to Allison, Sours told her that his symptoms were not caused by his blood sugar, and she put him on medication for nausea.

Despite Sours’s evident distress at this point, Allison did not administer insulin kept at the jail, did not call Sours’s pharmacy to find out his regular dose, and did not order insulin for his use. Nor did she send Sours to the emergency room, though Dr. Belhasen stated she expected Allison would have done so. Instead, late on Wednesday afternoon she placed Sours in a medical observation cell, left instructions for the guards to monitor his blood sugar, and left for a long weekend with the knowledge that no medical professionals would be at the jail for five days, until the following Monday. The last time she saw Sours, he was wrapped in a blanket and lying down. Allison testified that she also knew weakness and sleepiness to be common symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis.

Before she left, Allison claims she talked to Randy Madan, the jail administrator, about Sours’s “critical” situation — due to his lack of cooperation — but Madan denies having this conversation with her. Allison’s note to the guards said only “[pjlease check James Sours blood sugar before eating + chart daily. — no insulin available yet. Dr. S. Belhasen ordered blood work + will see him Monday.” The note did not indicate what should be done in case of continuing nausea or confusion,.increasing blood sugar levels, or if Sours refused to test his blood sugar. Allison says she expected that the guards would call her if Sours refused to test or would take Sours to an emergency room if he appeared to be in trouble, although she did not expect the guards to know the symptoms of ketoaci-dosis.

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Bluebook (online)
593 F. App'x 478, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sours-v-big-sandy-regional-jail-authority-ca6-2014.