Williams v. Erickson

962 F. Supp. 2d 1038, 2013 WL 4478684, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118256
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 21, 2013
DocketNo. 12 C 1875
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 962 F. Supp. 2d 1038 (Williams v. Erickson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Erickson, 962 F. Supp. 2d 1038, 2013 WL 4478684, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118256 (N.D. Ill. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MATTHEW F. KENNELLY, District Judge:

Plaintiff Elbert Williams, a prisoner in the Illinois Department of Corrections, has asserted claims under federal and state law against Danielle Erickson and Wexford Health Sources, Inc. arising from his contention that he was repeatedly refused assistance in changing his colostomy bag over a four hour period. Defendants have moved to dismiss Williams’ complaint for failure to state a claim. For the reasons stated below, the Court denies defendants’ motion except with respect to one of [1041]*1041Williams’ state law claims, on which the Court defers ruling.

Facts

The Court takes the following facts from the allegations in Williams’ complaint. Williams is an inmate at Stateville Correctional Center. He suffers from ulcerative colitis and underwent a colostomy in February 2011. As a result of the colostomy, Williams’ fecal waste is passed into a colostomy bag. He is able to change his own colostomy bag. New colostomy bags, however, come in sealed packages, and as an inmate, Williams does not have access to the tools needed to open the packages. As a result, he is dependent on prison staff to provide him with new colostomy bags.

In March 2011, Williams underwent a post-surgical examination at a hospital in Chicago. Upon his return to Stateville, he was housed at the prison’s health care unit, which is operated and staffed by Wexford. While Williams was at the health care unit, his colostomy bag overfilled, causing it to detach from his body. Williams alleges that he asked Erickson, a nurse at the facility, to open the seal on a new colostomy bag so that he could change the bag. He alleges that Erickson repeatedly refused his requests. As a result, Williams alleges, he was forced to spend four hours covered in feces before another staff member assisted him. Williams has sued to recover damages.

Williams, who is represented by court-appointed counsel, asserts six claims in his amended complaint. Counts 1 and 2 are claim under the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, alleging deliberate indifference to serious medical needs and improper conditions of confinement. Count 3 is a state law “healing art malpractice” claim. Counts 4 and 5 allege, respectively, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Count 6 is a claim of “institutional negligence” against Wexford.

Discussion

Defendants have moved to dismiss all six claims pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). When considering a motion to dismiss under that Rule, the Court accepts the facts alleged in the complaint as true and “draws all possible inferences in [the plaintiffs] favor.” Heyde v. Pittenger, 633 F.3d 512, 517 (7th Cir.2011). To survive the motion, the complaint must include enough facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). A claim is plausible on its face “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id.

1. Count 1 — Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference claim

A prison official violates the Eighth Amendment’s bar against cruel and unusual punishment if she displays “deliberate indifference to serious medical needs of prisoners.” Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104, 97 S.Ct. 285, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976). A claim of deliberate indifference has both an .objective and a subjective component. The objective component — ■ which is the one that defendants focus upon in their motion — requires the plaintiff to show that his medical need was objectively serious. See, e.g., Greeno v. Daley, 414 F.3d 645, 653 (7th Cir.2005) (citing Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 834, 114 S.Ct. 1970, 128 L.Ed.2d 811 (1994)). A medical need is considered objectively serious if it has been diagnosed by a physician as requiring treatment or if it is “so obvious that even a lay person would recognize the necessity for a doctor’s attention.” Id.

Williams’ allegations regarding his colostomy and his resulting need for medical [1042]*1042equipment are sufficient to satisfy either or both of these criteria. First, it is a reasonable inference from Williams’ complaint that a physician prescribed the use of colostomy bags to capture the fecal waste discharged through the surgical opening that was created as a result of his colostomy. Second, a reasonable fact finder easily could find it obvious to any lay person that when a colostomy bag is full, it needs to be replaced, and if it has become detached, this needs to be remedied. Indeed, it would be difficult to state the contrary proposition with a straight face. See Ferebee v. Cejas, 161 F.3d 2 (4th Cir.1998) (unpublished); cf. Wellman v. Faulkner, 715 F.2d 269, 274 (7th Cir.1983) (describing lack of sufficient colostomy bags as an aspect of plaintiffs’ proof of deliberate indifference to prisoners’ serious medical needs). The absence of physical pain may be a factor, but it is not dispositive; indeed, pain is not one of the requirements for proving a serious medical need. See, e.g., Seventh Cir. Civil Jury Instr. 7.12 & 7.13 (2009).

2. Count 2 — conditions of confinement claim

The Eighth Amendment is violated if officials are “deliberately indifferent to conditions that deny the minimal civilized measures of life necessities.” Budd v. Motley, 711 F.3d 840, 842 (7th Cir.2013). This includes adequate sanitation and hygiene. Id.

Defendants argues that Williams’ allegations amount only to “mere discomfort or inconvenience” and that “ ‘[i]nmates cannot expect the amenities, conveniences and services of a good hotel.’ ” Defs.’ Mot. at 3 (quoting Harris v. Fleming, 839 F.2d 1232, 1235 (7th Cir.1988)). That is a far cry from what Williams has alleged. He contends that he required to sit in fecal waste for four hours while medical personnel who had the means of remedying the problem deliberately ignored him. That is anything but a claim seeking the “services of a good hotel.” See, e.g., Garrett v. Schwatz, No. 10-cv-955-GPM, 2011 WL 3207135, at *3-4 (S.D.Ill. July 27, 2011) (collecting cases). A reasonable inference may likewise be drawn that being exposed to fecal waste for that period of time may represent a health hazard.

Defendants also argue that because Williams concedes that Erickson told him that the health care unit did not have scissors, that demonstrates the absence of deliberate indifference.

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Bluebook (online)
962 F. Supp. 2d 1038, 2013 WL 4478684, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118256, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-erickson-ilnd-2013.