Willie Frank Wright, Jr. v. Officer Langford

562 F. App'x 769
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedApril 2, 2014
Docket12-14466
StatusUnpublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 562 F. App'x 769 (Willie Frank Wright, Jr. v. Officer Langford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Willie Frank Wright, Jr. v. Officer Langford, 562 F. App'x 769 (11th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Willie Frank Wright, Jr., a state prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals from the district court’s order granting Officer Edward Langford’s motion for summary judgment and dismissing Mr. Wright’s excessive force claim for failure to exhaust available administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). Mr. Wright also appeals the denial of his motions for appointment of counsel and several rulings made by the district court with respect to his deliberate-indifference claim against Dr. Theron Harrison, including the court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law in favor of Dr. Harrison following trial. After reviewing the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm.

I

Mr. Wright filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, asserting claims for excessive force against Officer Langford and for deliberate-indifference to a serious medical need against Dr. Harrison and Nurse Jamey Hargroven, based on a series of incidents that occurred at the Baldwin County jail in Georgia. 1 Mr. Wright alleged that on May 6, 2010, he sustained a fractured wrist when Officer Langford, a corrections officer at the jail, used excessive force to handcuff him after an altercation with another inmate. He further alleged that, although Nurse Hargroven examined him after the altercation and he received an x-ray the following day, he had to wait five days — until May 11, 2010 — to see Dr. Harrison, an independently contracted physician who visited the jail twice a week. In addition to taking issue with Dr. Harrison’s delay in providing treatment, Mr. Wright also alleged that he was not given certain pain medication for his wrist injury.

A

On May 12, 2010, before filing this action, Mr. Wright submitted a grievance form related to the May 6th incident where he asserted, in pertinent part, “[m]y hand is fractured your officer handcuffed me behind my back,” and complained that he did not see a doctor until five days after the “fight.” D.E. 26-1 at 8. At the close of discovery, Officer Langford moved for summary judgment, arguing that the excessive force claim should be dismissed under the PLRA because Mr. Wright failed to comply with the jail’s five-day grievance filing period, and thus, did not properly exhaust his administrative remedies before bringing suit. The district court granted Officer Langford’s motion and dismissed Mr. Wright’s excessive force claim for failure to properly exhaust administrative remedies under the PLRA. Relying on Mr. Wright’s admission that he had filed numerous prior grievances, court records showing that he had filed nine prior lawsuits in federal court, and a jail official’s affidavit stating that all Baldwin County inmates are issued a copy of the Inmate Handbook which explains the grievance filing procedure, the district court determined that Mr. Wright’s asserted lack of awareness concerning the five-day grievance deadline was not credible. And, although Mr. Wright claimed that his injury prevented him from timely completing the grievance form, the district court determined that Mr. Wright had failed to show that he could not seek assistance *773 from another inmate or staff member. 2 Alternatively, the district court found that Mr. Wright also failed to follow the jail’s grievance procedures, as he did not specifically identify Officer Langford or the offending conduct in his grievance form.

During the course of litigation, Mr. Wright moved twice for appointment of counsel — once before Officer Langford filed his motion for summary judgment, and again after the motion was filed, but before the district court granted the motion. The magistrate judge denied both motions for appointment of counsel because Mr. Wright had adequately set forth the allegations underlying his claims against Officer Langford and Dr. Harrison, and that the applicable legal doctrines were readily apparent. In the order denying Mr. Wright’s second motion, the magistrate judge explained that the court, sua sponte, would appoint counsel if it became apparent that Mr. Wright required legal assistance or in order to avoid prejudice to his rights.

B

In August 2012, the case against Dr. Harrison proceeded to trial. Mr. Wright, Nurse Hargroven, and Dr. Harrison testified.

Nurse Hargroven testified that she physically examined Mr. Wright on May 6, 2010, following an altercation with another inmate. 3 See D.E. 98 at 49-50. She observed swelling in Mr. Wright’s hand, but no deformities. See id. at 51. Following the exam, she reported her observations by phone to Dr. Harrison, who instructed her to schedule an x-ray when the mobile clinic next visited the jail — that is, five days later — and to issue him prescription-strength Motrin for pain relief. See id. at 50, 59-62. Nurse Hargroven decided to schedule the x-ray for the following day at an off-site hospital because Mr. Wright had been very vocal about his medical complaints. See id. at 62. She clarified, though, that her decision was made solely to appease Mr. Wright, and not because she believed that his condition necessitated more immediate treatment. See id. at 63. Nurse Hargroven did not inform Dr. Harrison of the scheduling change. See id. at 63-64.

Dr. Harrison testified that Nurse Har-groven contacted him at his personal office on May 6, 2010 after she had examined Mr. Wright. See id. at 82-83. She reported that Mr. Wright’s hand was swollen but that she did not observe anything “critical.” Id. at 83. Based solely on Nurse Hargroven’s report, Dr. Harrison prescribed 800 milligrams of Motrin for Mr. Wright and decided to be “overly cautious” and order an x-ray for the following week. Id. When he visited the jail the following week and personally examined Mr. Wright, he was surprised to learn that Mr. Wright had undergone an x-ray several days earlier. See id. at 87-88, 154.

Mr. Wright testified that he was immediately taken for a medical examination when he complained of pain following the altercation on May 6, 2010. See id. at 117. He explained that, after Nurse Hargroven first examined him, he was housed in an isolation unit until he met with Dr. Harri *774 son five days later, on May 11, 2010. See id. at 121-22. He admitted that he was not forced to do any work or exercise in the interim. See id. at 122. Mr. Wright stated that he was offered prescription pain medication twice daily during the period. See id. at 124. While in isolation, on May 9, 2010, he completed a medical form reporting that he was coughing blood and experiencing bloody stool, although he did not refer to his wrist injury at that time. See id. at 126-27. He first met with Dr. Harrison regarding his injury on May 11, 2010, and following an examination, Dr. Harrison scheduled Mr. Wright to meet with an orthopedist the following day.

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Bluebook (online)
562 F. App'x 769, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/willie-frank-wright-jr-v-officer-langford-ca11-2014.