Weeks v. Hodges

871 F. Supp. 2d 811, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66315, 2012 WL 1669459
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedMay 10, 2012
DocketNo. 1:09 CV 119
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 871 F. Supp. 2d 811 (Weeks v. Hodges) 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
Weeks v. Hodges, 871 F. Supp. 2d 811, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66315, 2012 WL 1669459 (N.D. Ind. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JAMES T. MOODY, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on defendants’ motion for summary judgment. (DE # 38.) For the reasons set forth below, defendants’ motion is granted in part and denied in part.

1. BACKGROUND

The following facts are not genuinely disputed.1 Plaintiff was booked in Whitley County Jail on February 21, 2008, as a pre-trial detainee, and was convicted on April 21, 2008.2 (DE #40-6 at 2.) The initial medical screening form completed on that date indicated that plaintiff did not have any medical problems at that time. (DE #45-4.) Between March 14, 2008, and May 8, 2008, plaintiff submitted ten inmate request forms, none of which dealt with his teeth. (DE # 46 at 2; DE # 39 at 2.) The first indication that plaintiff gave anyone that he was having dental problems after being incarcerated came in late April 2008, when plaintiff told his mother that he was having tooth pain. (DE # 40-2 at 6.) On May 10, 2008, plaintiff filed his first inmate request form regarding his dental pain. (DE # 40-7 at 7.) That request, which was sent to defendant Sean Martin,3 the jail commander, indicat[816]*816ed that plaintiffs back wisdom teeth were coming in and pushing together, causing pain. (Id.) Plaintiff requested that he be allowed to see his family dentist before things got any worse. (Id.) He also indicated that he could pay for the bill to see his family dentist. (Id.) Plaintiff received a response the next day that told him that he could see the jail dentist the next time the dentist was at the facility. (Id.)

Two days later, on May 12, 2008, plaintiff filed another inmate request form, this time with the nurse, requesting to see a dentist as soon as possible because of the severe pain he was experiencing from his bottom teeth pushing together. (DE # 40-7 at 8.) In response, an appointment was scheduled with the jail dentist on the following day. (Id.) On May 13, 2008, plaintiff saw Dr. Dennis Carter, the jail dentist, (DE # 40-7 at 5) and Dr. Carter made the following entry on plaintiffs chart:

Dental Exam, # 17, mesial impaction, pt. has headaches daily, Amoxicillin 1000 mg o.f.d., # 20 bid needs to have # 17 extracted by an oral surgeon.

(Id.)

Plaintiff next submitted an inmate request form on May 15, 2008. (DE # 40-7 at 9.) In it, plaintiff reiterated that his teeth were really hurting him, inquired whether the jail commander, defendant Martin, had found out anything about his teeth, and expressed a desire to get the issue resolved as quickly as possible. (Id.) Although not mentioned specifically in that request form, plaintiff was seeking to get his tooth extracted. (DE # 45-2 at 10-11.) On the following day, defendant Martin responded, and told plaintiff that he was working on the issue. (DE # 40-7 at 9.)4 Around this time,, plaintiff began taking Ibuprofen for his pain and headaches. (DE # 45-2 at 11-12.)

At some point in May 2008, defendant’s mother was contacted by the jail commander Sean Martin. (DE #40-2 at 5.) They discussed plaintiffs dental problem, and Martin told plaintiffs mother that she needed to make plaintiff an appointment with an oral surgeon. (Id.) After her conversation with Martin, plaintiffs mother scheduled an appointment with an oral surgeon for May 23, 2008. (DE # 1 at 10.)

The next inmate request form plaintiff submitted was on May 20, 2008. (DE #40-7 at 11.) In that request, plaintiff again informed the jail commander, defendant Martin, that his teeth were hurting him and inquired about the date of his appointment. (Id.) On the following day, the jail commander informed plaintiff that the jail would provide transportation for him to see the oral surgeon on May 23, 2008. (Id.) However, before plaintiffs appointment with the oral surgeon, plaintiffs mother canceled the appointment because the oral surgeon’s office wanted a down payment of one-third of the cost of the surgery. (DE #40-2 at 5-6.) Plaintiffs mother could not afford to pay for the surgery herself, and she did not know who was going to pay it. (Id.; DE # 1 at 9-10.)

On May 20, 2008, plaintiffs mother wrote a letter to defendant Hodges regarding the situation with the oral surgeon. In it, plaintiffs mother explained that she could not pay for the dental care herself, informing Hodges that plaintiff [817]*817was “basically indigent,” and expressing disbelief over the fact that plaintiffs dental problems had not yet been resolved. (DE # 1 at 9-10; DE # 45-11 at 3-4.)

On May 22, 2008, defendant Hodges responded to plaintiffs mother, informing her that he and defendant Martin were checking with the oral surgeon to “determine responsibility.” (DE # 1 at 11.) On May 25, 2008, plaintiff wrote the nurse requesting that Ibuprofen be made available to him again as his teeth were “really hurting.” (DE #40-7 at 12.) The nurse responded informing plaintiff that he would be given ten doses of Ibuprofen for a thirty-day period. (Id.) On June 8, 2008, in an inmate request form sent to the nurse, plaintiff requested more Ibuprofen and indicated again that his teeth hurt “on a regular basis.” (DE # 40-7 at 13.) The nurse responded that she would put the Ibuprofen back on the medicine cart for plaintiff. (Id.)

During his deposition, defendant testified that at some point after plaintiffs initial visit with Dr. Carter, plaintiff spoke with both defendants individually. (DE #40-1 at 8.) When he spoke with each defendant, plaintiff informed them that the dentist had told him that he needed to have his wisdom tooth removed. (Id.) Both defendants indicated they would get the matter taken care of. (Id.)

On June 11, 2008, plaintiffs mother wrote to defendant Hodges again. (DE # 1 at 14-15.) Plaintiffs mother informed Hodges that plaintiff was still having dental problems and that although she had rescheduled the original dental appointment, she had to cancel the rescheduled appointment due to her inability to pay. (DE # 1 at 14-15) She also requested that Hodges give her a definitive answer on whether Whitley County (“the County”) was going to pay for the procedure. (Id.) Instead of directly responding to her letter, Hodges informed plaintiff that he could see Dr. Carter, the jail dentist, the next time Dr. Carter was at the jail. (DE # 45-11 at 10.)

On July 23, 2008, plaintiff saw Dr. Carter, the prison dentist, once more. (DE # 40-7 at 5.) Dr. Carter’s notes from that meeting indicate that tooth # 17 was still impacted, but that plaintiff suffered only occasional pain, and was not in pain on the day of the exam. (Id.) Later that day, Dr. Carter met with defendant Hodges and a jail nurse to discuss plaintiffs condition. (DE #40-3 at 4.) Dr. Carter indicated that the tooth did not need to be removed immediately, and that the downside to removing the tooth would be a fifty-percent chance of a dry socket5 appearing. (Id.) Dr. Carter suggested that the best course was to treat any future infections with antibiotics until antibiotics were no longer effective. (DE #40-3 at 4.) Dr. Carter also stated that the wisdom tooth was not causing plaintiffs front teeth to move. (Id.) Hodges concluded that plaintiff would be examined by Dr. Carter every time Dr. Carter visited the jail. (Id.)

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
871 F. Supp. 2d 811, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66315, 2012 WL 1669459, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weeks-v-hodges-innd-2012.