United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Western Division
RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION
I.
Procedures for Filing Objections
This
Recommendation has been sent to Judge Susan Webber Wright.
Any party to this suit may file written objections with the
Clerk of Court, but to be considered, objections must be
filed within 14 days. Objections should be specific and
should include the factual or legal basis for the objection.
If
parties do not file objections, they risk waiving the right
to appeal questions of fact. And, if no objections are filed,
Judge Wright can adopt this Recommendation without
independently reviewing the record.
II.
Background
Plaintiff
Henry Smith, a federal inmate, filed this case without the
help of a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Docket entry
#1) According to allegations in the complaint, Defendants
Wright and Parker, correction officers at the Saline County
Detention Center, failed to protect Mr. Smith from attack at
the hands of another inmate. As a result of the attack, Mr.
Smith alleges, he suffered serious injuries. (#1) He further
alleges that, after the attack, both Defendants Wright and
Parker refused to provide him adequate medical care. (#1)
Defendants
have now moved for summary judgment on all claims. In support
of their motion, they offer Mr. Smith's records from his
stay at the Detention Center. (#16) Mr. Smith has not
responded to the motion.
III.
Standard
Defendants
are entitled to summary judgment only if the evidence, viewed
in the light most favorable to Mr. Smith, shows that there is
no genuine dispute about any fact that is important to the
outcome of the case. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56; Celotex Corp. v.
Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322B23 (1986); Anderson v.
Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 246 (1986).
IV.
Facts
According
to allegations in the complaint, Mr. Smith was placed in a
cell with a “derange[d]” inmate who was
significantly younger than he. (#1, p. 6) On June 4, 2018,
the cellmate attacked and severely beat him. (#1) Mr. Smith
alleges that he suffered a concussion and a back injury in
the attack, but that Defendants Wright and Parker refused to
see that he received adequate medical care for those
injuries. (#1)
The
Defendants attached Detention Center records in support of
their motion, including some of Mr. Smith's grievances,
responses to grievances, and medical requests. (#18-1, #18-2)
According to those records, on June 5, 2018, the day after he
was attacked, Mr. Smith wrote to Defendant Parker, explaining
he had suffered a bruise on his lip, a swollen jaw, and a
knot on his forehead as a result of the inmate attack.
(#18-2, p.18)
On June
6, 2018, Mr. Smith submitted a Medical Request form, noting
that “The Nurse examine[d] me and I told her I was
attack [sic] by my cell mate and now I need Medical
checkup.” Medical staff responded on June 7: “You
will be placed on the sick call list . . . .” (#18-2,
p.17)
On June
7, 2018, Mr. Smith wrote to Defendant Parker complaining that
he had a severe head injury, concussion, head pain, back
pain, stiff neck, and leg numbness. (#18-2, p. 16) Defendant
Parker responded on June 8, that he had seen Mr. Smith on a
video and that he appeared to be, “moving around just
fine, ” but that he would inform “them” and
see if there was merit to his complaints. (#18-2, p. 16)
On June
8, Mr. Smith wrote to Sgt. Thomason, again describing the
attack. Defendant Parker responded that Mr. Smith's
“request has already been ...