Vaught v. Quality Corr. Care, LLC

323 F. Supp. 3d 997
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedJune 21, 2018
DocketCAUSE NO.: 1:15–CV–346–TLS
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 323 F. Supp. 3d 997 (Vaught v. Quality Corr. Care, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vaught v. Quality Corr. Care, LLC, 323 F. Supp. 3d 997 (N.D. Ind. 2018).

Opinion

CHIEF JUDGE THERESA L. SPRINGMANN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

*1000This matter comes before the Court on two Motions for Summary Judgment [ECF Nos. 69, 71]. On October 8, 2015, the Plaintiff filed the instant action in state court [ECF No. 2] against several parties, including: Quality Correctional Care, LLC (QCC) an Indiana domestic company that contracted with the Whitely County Sheriff's Department to be the medical provider for its jail facility; Rebecca Cook, R.N., and Kelley Carroll, N.P., both employed by QCC;1 Sheriff Marcus Gatton, the current elected Whitley County Sheriff; Sheriff Mark E. Hodges, who was the duly elected Whitley County Sheriff during David Vaught's incarceration at the Whitley County Jail; Officers Steve Myers, Samuel Gillespie, Lauren Schmidt, and Branden Anderson, all employed by the Whitley County Sheriff's Department;2 Parkview Hospital, Inc.; and Sarah Zook, R.N., a nurse employed by Parkview Hospital, Inc. The Plaintiff brought claims individually and as the administrator of David Vaught's estate based on a federal statute ( 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ), state common law (intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress), and state statutes (Indiana Wrongful Death Statute, Indiana Survival Action). The claims stem from the treatment David Vaught received at the Whitley County Jail and Parkview Regional Medical Center, which the Plaintiff alleged caused Vaught's death on April 24, 2014

On February 1, 2018, the Court granted summary judgment to Parkview and Nurse Zook. (See Opinion & Order, ECF No. 75.) The Plaintiff had sued Parkview and Nurse Zook for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and had sued Nurse Zook for relief under § 1983, alleging that she was deliberately indifferent to Vaught's serious health condition.

The first Motion for Summary Judgment now before the Court was filed by Defendants Kelley Carroll, N.P.; Rebecca Cook, R.N.; and Quality Correctional Care, LLC (QCC). The second was filed contemporaneously by Sheriffs Marcus Gatton and Mark Hodges, as well as Officers Steve Myers, Samuel Gillespie, Branden Anderson, and Lauren Schmidt. Plaintiff Anne Vaught timely responded to the Motions [ECF Nos. 76, 79], and the Defendants timely replied [ECF No. 90, 96]. The matter is now fully briefed and ripe for review.

BACKGROUND

The following background is provided by the parties' briefing and attached exhibits, and describes the dispute in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff. In October 2012, Whitley County outsourced medical services for inmates at the Whitley County Jail to Quality Correctional Care (QCC) through the Whitley County Inmate Healthcare Service Agreement (Service Agreement). The Service Agreement provided *1001for one physician visit per week; physician availability via telephone or email twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week; on-site nursing for twenty-five hours per week; and a nurse administrator available for consultation twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, and who would also visit the Jail weekly. (Service Agreement at 2, ECF No. 72-2.) QCC also assumed responsibility for managing discharges and coordinating continued care for inmates in conjunction with normal discharge protocols. (Id. at 7.)

After the parties executed the Service Agreement, QCC held a training session for the Jail staff. Staff members learned that, among other policies and procedures, if they suspected an inmate was ill or required medical attention, they were to submit a written notification to Rebecca Cook, R.N.'s inbox or, if the situation so required, call Nurse Cook at her home. Nurse Cook provided on-site nursing care at the Jail for twenty-five hours per week. If Nurse Cook was not available, then the Jail staff were to contact Kelley Carroll, N.P., who acted as the nurse administrator, and would also visit the Jail weekly. Jail staff could also exercise their own judgment to call an ambulance if necessary. Additionally, inmates could submit their own requests for medical treatment. The Jail staff would then pass along these requests to the medical staff, and generally deferred to the medical staff's judgment regarding medical care. Jail staff were to complete Incident Reports for any inmate medical issues so that then-Sheriff Mark Hodges could appropriately react to events occurring within the Jail. Minor medical issues did not require a written Incident Report.

The events that gave rise to this litigation involved several discrete interactions over the course of six months between David Vaught, various members of the Jail staff, QCC employees, and medical personnel affiliated with Parkview Hospital, Inc. Vaught was incarcerated at the Jail in early December 2013. The Plaintiff visited Vaught regularly, and also talked with him on the phone during his incarceration.3 On December 2, 2013, an employee of the Whitley County Sheriff's Department, Beth Lehman, completed a Standard Medical Questions form with Vaught as part of his intake into the Jail. (ECF No. 76-13.) In that form, Lehman noted that Vaught was taking Depakote-a seizure medication-and that he had an alcohol addiction, arthritis in his shoulders and right hip, a twice broken back, high blood pressure, hearing aids in both ears, and dry skin that bleeds.

Shortly after his intake, Nurse Cook examined Vaught. During this assessment, she noted that all of his vital signs were *1002within normal limits, but that his Depakote prescription was for a higher dosage than normal. On December 28, 2013, the Plaintiff visited Vaught (Vaught Dep. 48:2-49:17, ECF No. 79-23) and noticed that Vaught was slow to respond and exhibited poor motor skills, and, as a result, she was concerned that Vaught's Depakote dosage was too high. She left a voicemail with Nurse Cook expressing her concerns. Nurse Cook and Nurse Carroll later reduced Vaught's Depakote dosage. (Vaught Dep. 48:2-49:17, 58:17-59:6, ECF No. 79-23.)

Nurse Cook next examined Vaught on January 5, 2014. (Cook Dep. 20:22-29:4, ECF No. 79-1.) When she arrived to work that day there was an Incident Report in her mailbox from Lauren Schmidt, a corrections officer at the Jail. The Incident Report [ECF No. 79-3] explained that the Plaintiff had called the Jail the previous evening and reported that Vaught felt foggy and shaky that evening (January 4). The Plaintiff further explained that Vaught had been shaky and foggy on previous visits and that he may be experiencing issues related to his seizure medication. During Nurse Cook's January 5, 2014, examination she noted that Vaught was slow to answer questions, but she did not think that this was unusual because he had difficulty hearing and used hearing aids, and, as a result, usually took time to answer questions. During the examination, Nurse Cook took Vaught's vitals and listened to his breathing. His blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation levels were all within normal limits, and his breathing patterns demonstrated that his lungs were clear. He did have a loose productive cough, but Nurse Cook attributed this cough to Vaught's chronic smoking history.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kudla v. Hammond City of
N.D. Indiana, 2022
Guyton v. Taybron
N.D. Illinois, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
323 F. Supp. 3d 997, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vaught-v-quality-corr-care-llc-innd-2018.