Wooldridge v. Connor

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 29, 2025
Docket3:25-cv-01287
StatusUnknown

This text of Wooldridge v. Connor (Wooldridge v. Connor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wooldridge v. Connor, (S.D. Ill. 2025).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

PATRICK J. WOOLDRIDGE, #42662, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Case No. 25-cv-01287-JPG ) SHERIFF CONNOR, ) JERRY ENDICOTT, ) JODY COLLMAN, ) JOSE MORALES, ) CLEVELAND RAYFORD, ) DR. AMPADU, ) ROBERT KELLY, ) DENISE STANFORD, ) AMBER CARTER, ) PATRICIA TITCHENAL, ) DR. SHACHTER, ) EMILY BLOZINSKI, ) TREY BERGMAN, ) TALEAH JACKSON, ) TONIA WEST, ) JAIL NURSE JANE DOE, and ) CENTERSTONE NURSE JANE DOE 1-3 ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

GILBERT, District Judge:

Plaintiff Patrick Wooldridge, a pretrial detainee at Madison County Jail, brings this action pro se pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for claims of unconstitutional conditions of confinement arising from the denial of drug treatment, prescription eyeglasses, dental care, and a paper grievance process at Madison County Jail. The Complaint (Doc. 1) is subject to review under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, which requires dismissal of any portion that is legally frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, or seeks damages from an immune defendant. Before screening this matter under § 1915A, the Court must determine whether any claims are improperly joined herein and subject to severance. Dorsey v. Varga, 55 F.4th 1094 (7th Cir. 2022); George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007). The Complaint Plaintiff makes the following allegations in the Complaint (Doc. 1, pp. 1-38): Plaintiff was detained at Madison County Jail twice: (1) August 28, 2024 - November 18, 2024 (first detention);

and (2) December 12, 2024 - present (second detention). He brings four separate complaints about his conditions of confinement at the Jail, arising from the denial of necessary treatment for substance abuse (complaint 1), vision problems (complaint 2), dental issues (complaint 3) and access to a paper grievance process (complaint 4). Complaint 1: Drug Treatment Plaintiff complains that he was denied adequate treatment for substance abuse. Id. at 8. He suffered “horrible” symptoms of withdrawal when he was taken into custody both times. During his first detention, Centerstone employee Jane Doe #1 invited him to participate in a suboxone maintenance program on September 1, 2024. He jumped at the opportunity. However,

Plaintiff was not given suboxone according to Centerstone’s treatment protocol, which he does not describe. The medication was administered at irregular times in different forms. As a result, Plaintiff suffered unnecessary illness, pain, and discomfort that included body aches, hot/cold flashes, anxiety, vomiting, and bowel incontinence. Id. at 8-9. Staff provided suboxone only when it was convenient, and it was frequently inconvenient. Plaintiff often went 12 to 16 hours without suboxone. Nurses Robert Kelly, Denise Stanford, Patricia Titchenal, and Amber Carter regularly encouraged him to just quit the suboxone maintenance program. They also let unqualified staff, including correctional officers, administer his medication. Id. Suboxone was given to him in different forms, with varying degrees of effectiveness. During his first detention, Plaintiff received fast-dissolving strips. Two days after his release from the first detention, he received an injection with a 30-day dose of suboxone on November 20, 2024. When he returned to the Jail on December 12, 2024, Plaintiff received nothing for 20 days. At the time, he was withdrawing from methamphetamine. Centerstone employees Jane Doe ##1 and 3

told correctional officers and jail staff to give Plaintiff time before talking with them. When he became suicidal during a “meth-induced” psychosis, Plaintiff alerted Nurse Kelly that his injection had worn off and caused negative side effects. Nurse Kelly informed Plaintiff that he was no longer part of the Centerstone program but agreed to set up an appointment with a facility doctor. Thereafter, Plaintiff was given crushed pills, which were less effective. Id. Doctors Shachter, Rayford, and Ampadu refused to meet with him at the facility to discuss his symptoms of withdrawal, tolerance to suboxone, or increase in prescription dose/dosage. The facility’s doctors explained that Centerstone controlled these decisions, while Centerstone staff said the facility was in charge. Plaintiff blames Centerstone employees Jane Doe ##1, 2, and 3 for

failing to ensure that a protocol was in place for regular administration of suboxone at the Jail. Id. Meanwhile, the Jail’s nursing staff took very different approaches to treatment, which Plaintiff characterizes as “retaliatory.”1 Id. at 10. Jail Nurse Jane Doe tried to place a disposable strip into Plaintiff’s mouth; Nurses Emily Blozinski and Trey Bergman instructed Plaintiff to speak with a healthcare provider first; Nurse Taleah Jackson followed no schedule for medication administration; and Nurse Tonia West forgot to put suboxone on the medication cart for

1 Plaintiff cannot rely on conclusory allegations to articulate a retaliation claim under the First Amendment. To the extent he attempts to do so, the claim is considered dismissed without prejudice for failure to state a claim against any defendants. distribution by C/O Jose Morale at least once. Plaintiff went a whole night without medication on at least one occasion and defecated on himself as a result. Id. Plaintiff attempted to file paper grievances to address his complaints of inadequate substance abuse treatment. But, Sheriff Connor, Captain Collman, and Captain Endicott had no protocol in place for addressing paper grievances. The Jail only used an electronic grievance

process. Id. Complaint 2: Vision Problems Plaintiff was prescribed eyeglasses to correct his vision after undergoing surgery for a detached retina in his right eye in 2014. Id. at 11. His eyeglasses disappeared while he was in custody at Alton Jail. During his second detention at Madison County Jail, Plaintiff began suffering from migraines, so he submitted written requests for replacement eyeglasses beginning in March 2025. Nurse Stanford asked, “Why are we even doing this?” Id. Nurse Titchenal explained that “insurance ordered it.” Nurse Stanford nevertheless required Plaintiff to complete a series of eye exams while expressing disbelief with his responses. Nurse Titchenal eventually told Nurse Stanford that she would handle the matter. On the way back to his cell, C/O Ian Gray2

told Plaintiff that Nurse Stanford did not get along with anyone. In the weeks that followed, Plaintiff received no eyeglasses. He continued to suffer from migraines. He put in several request slips for treatment and asked for Tylenol. He was told to buy it from the commissary. Eventually, Plaintiff was sent to the same optometrist who performed his surgery in 2014. The optometrist prescribed new eyeglasses. He still did not receive them, so Plaintiff asked Nurses Titchenal and Carter to explain why. The nurses said that they were still waiting for insurance

2 This individual is not named as a defendant in the complaint, and all claims against him are considered dismissed without prejudice. See FED. R. CIV. P. 10(a) (title of the complaint “must name all the parties”). approval. When Plaintiff asked Nurse Carter about the eyeglasses again, she agreed to order them before her last day of employment on the following day. This was the last time he communicated with Nurse Carter. Plaintiff learned that she ordered a pair that was not approved by the Jail. Plaintiff asked Nurses Bergman and Blozinski about the glasses when they began working at the Jail. Both nurses were indifferent to him. When he submitted a request slip for the

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Bluebook (online)
Wooldridge v. Connor, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wooldridge-v-connor-ilsd-2025.