United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Pine Bluff Division
RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION
I.
Procedures for Filing Objections
This
Recommended Disposition (Recommendation) has been sent to
Judge James M. Moody, Jr. Any party to this suit may file
written objections with the Clerk of Court. Objections should
be specific and should include the factual or legal basis for
the objection.
To be
considered, objections must be filed within 14 days. If
parties do not file objections, they risk waiving the right
to appeal questions of fact. And, if no objections are filed,
Judge Moody can adopt this Recommendation without
independently reviewing the record.
II.
Background
Plaintiff
Robert Lee Johnson, an inmate in the Arkansas Department of
Correction (ADC), filed this lawsuit without the help of a
lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Docket entry #1) Mr.
Johnson claims that Defendants Griffin, Kelley, Lay, Conley,
and Stukey were deliberately indifferent to his medical
needs. (#2)
Defendants
Conley and Stukey (Medical Defendants) have moved for summary
judgment on the merits (#76), as have Defendants Griffin,
Kelley, and Lay (ADC Defendants) (#81). Mr. Johnson has
responded to the motions. (#89)
III.
Summary Judgment Standard
Summary
judgment is granted only when the evidence, viewed in the
light most favorable to the nonmoving party, presents no
genuine dispute as to any fact important to the outcome of
the case. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56; Celotex Corp. v. Catrett,
477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby,
Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 246 (1986). If important facts
remain in dispute, the court cannot grant summary judgment,
and the case is set for a trial.
IV.
Undisputed Facts
Here,
the relevant facts are not in dispute. Mr. Johnson arrived at
the Randall Williams Unit of the ADC on November 16, 2017.
(#77-2; pp.47-48) His medical history included heart murmurs,
coronary heart disease, hypertension, and bradycardia (slow
heart beat).[1] (#77-1, pp.1, 4; #77-2, p. 19)
Mr.
Johnson complained of chest pain on several occasions while
he was at the Randall Williams Unit; and each time, he was
taken to the Jefferson Regional Medical Center (JRMC)
emergency department for treatment, including examinations by
cardiologists. (#77-1, pp. 6, 8-21, 46-53, 120-146, 152-175,
198-212).
The
issues in this lawsuit concern whether Mr. Johnson had a
serious medical need for a pacemaker and, if so, whether
Defendants knew of this need, but deliberately failed to
authorize the procedure. Mr. Johnson filed this lawsuit to
force Defendants to authorize insertion of a pacemaker in his
chest, which he believes is medically necessary. (#77-2,
pp.45-47, 51)
Mr.
Johnson asserts that on March 14, 2018, he signed a consent
form at JRMC for insertion of a pacemaker and was prepped for
the procedure, but the Defendants refused to authorize it.
(#2, p.5; #46; #51; #77-2, p. 45-47, 68) It is undisputed
that cardiologists at JRMC performed a left heart
catherization on Mr. Johnson.[2] (#2; #77-1, p.75)
Mr.
Johnson acknowledges that Dr. Alshami, [3] the cardiologist
who examined him at JRMC in March of 2018, never told him
that he needed a pacemaker. (#77-2, p.51) He believes he
needs a pacemaker because Dr. Rollefson (not a Defendant)
said as much in 2011, as did a doctor at the ...