United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Jonesboro Division
ORDER
I.
Background
James
Wesley Dillard is currently an Arkansas Department of
Correction (“ADC”) inmate. He filed this lawsuit
claiming that the Greene County officials violated his
constitutional rights while he was detained at the Greene
County Detention Center (“Detention Center”).
(Docket entry #2) Because Mr. Dillard included multiple,
unrelated claims in his original complaint, the Court
required him to file an amended complaint that included only
related claims. (#6) Mr. Dillard elected to proceed with
deliberate-indifference claims against Defendants Bagwell and
Huggins. The remaining claims that were unrelated to his
medical treatment were dismissed, without prejudice. (#21)
On
September 4, 2018 and again on September 17, 2018, Mr.
Dillard moved for summary judgment on his
deliberate-indifference claims. (#45, #47) Defendants Bagwell
and Huggins filed a cross-motion for summary judgment on
December 3, 2018. (#52) Mr. Dillard has responded to the
Defendants' motion, and all motions are now ripe for
decision. (#56, #57)
II.
Discussion
A.
Standard
In a
summary judgment, the Court rules on the case without a
trial. A party is entitled to summary judgment if-but only
if-the evidence shows that there is no genuine dispute about
any fact important to the outcome of the case. See
Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 and Odom v. Kaizer, 864 F.3d 920,
921 (8th Cir. 2017).
B.
Undisputed Medical History
Mr.
Dillard suffers from epilepsy. According to his medical
records, prior to his incarceration at the Detention Center,
he was sometimes prescribed Dilantin and sometimes prescribed
Keppra to control his seizures.
During
Mr. Dillard's January 16, 2017 appointment with Dr.
Roland Hollis, his primary care physician, Dr. Hollis noted
that Mr. Dillard had “quit taking” his Keppra and
was “off all meds.” (#52-1 at p.1) Dr. Hollis
prescribed Mr. Dillard 100 milligrams of Dilantin to be taken
“qid” (four times daily). He recommended that Mr.
Dillard be examined by a neurologist. (Id.)
Mr.
Dillard's medical records indicate that his Dilantin
level was above the therapeutic level on January 23, 2017.
(Id. at p.2) On July 28, 2017, less than two weeks
before Mr. Dillard was incarcerated, Dr. Hollis examined Mr.
Dillard and noted that he was “off meds?” and
that he had reported having a grand mal seizure on July 4.
(Id. at p.3) Dr. Hollis prescribed Keflex (an
antibiotic) and Diflucan (an antifungal medication).
(Id. at p.4)
On
August 1, 2017, Mr. Dillard was taken into custody at the
Detention Center. At booking, a medical intake form was
completed for Mr. Dillard. (Id. at p.5) Based on the
notes on the form, Mr. Dillard reported that he had stopped
taking Dilantin. (Id.) On August 1 and 4, Mr.
Dillard signed medical release forms so that his medical
records could be obtained from Dr. Hollis. (Id. at
pp.8-9)
On
August 3, Mr. Dillard submitted a medical request form
requesting to be assigned to a bottom bunk. (Id. at
p.12) In his request, Mr. Dillard explained that he suffered
from epilepsy and that his family was in the process of
trying to obtain his medication. (Id.)
The
following day, LPN Johnson (not a party to this lawsuit)
responded that suffering from a seizure disorder “will
only get you put in a medical cell up front in booking. It
will not get you bottom bunk.” (Id.) In
addition, Mr. Dillard was instructed to sign a “Release
of Information” to be sent to his physician to confirm
his diagnosis. (Id.)
On
August 23, 2017, Defendant Bagwell examined Mr. Dillard and
noted his complaints of seizures. (Id. at p.16) She
ordered Dilantin ...