Jail medical care lawsuit moves forward after inmate's hand injury went undertreated.

Record source: CourtListener

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY NORTHERN DIVISION AT ASHLAND CIVIL ACTION NO. 23-25-DLB-EBA JUSTIN DAVIS PLAINTIFF v. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER JUDY MABRY, et al. DEFENDANTS * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I. INTRODUCTION This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment from Defendants Southern Health Partners, Inc., Karen Bennett Baker, Latrisha Ferguson, Judy Mabry, and Norah McGlone (Doc. # 60). Plaintiff Justin Davis having filed his Response in Opposition (Doc. # 64)1 and Defendants having filed their Reply (Doc. # 66), the matter is now ripe for the Court’s review. For the following reasons, Defendants’ Motion is granted in part and denied in part. II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND This case stems from a self-inflicted hand injury sustained by Plaintiff Justin Davis on March 1, 2021. At all times relevant to this case, Davis was a resident of Ashland, Kentucky. (Doc. # 1 ¶ 3). On March 1, 2021, Davis suffered a gunshot wound to his left hand when he reached into a couch at an acquaintance’s house and accidentally 1 Davis filed two Responses with identical substantive arguments. (See Docs. # 63 and 64). However, in Docket Entry 64, Davis attached a series of exhibits that relate to his Response. (See Docs. # 64-1 through 64-25). For the sake of completeness of the record, the Court will refer to Docket Entry 64 as the operative Response in this Order. discharged the firearm into his hand. (Doc. # 60-3 at 50:13–51:6). He was rushed to the hospital at the University of Kentucky (“UK”) in Lexington, Kentucky, where Dr. Morgan Brgoch performed a four-hour emergency surgery on Davis’s left hand to repair “a fracture and dislocation of several of the hand bones.” (Id. at 52:13–53:12; Doc. # 60-4 at 30:17– 23). In the first surgery, Dr. Brgoch reduced the swelling in Davis’s hand and put the bones back in their regular place with several pins. (Doc. # 60-4 at 37:13–38:25). Two days later, Davis had a second, less intensive surgery on his hand. (Id. at 41:16–43:19). Davis was discharged from the hospital on March 5, 2021. (Doc. # 60-3 at 57:11– 16). He left with six pins in his hand to stabilize the bones and nerves after the surgeries. (Doc. # 60-4 at 53:3–22; Doc. # 64-10). He was given first-aid materials and instructions on how to keep his wound clean. (Doc. # 60-3 at 60:9–16). He was also given a follow- up appointment with Dr. Brgoch “roughly four weeks” after his discharge. (Id. at 57:11– 19). However, Davis did not attend the follow-up appointment, citing car troubles on his way to Lexington. (Id. at 58:10–59:22). He claims he rescheduled the appointment for a future date, but he did not attend the rescheduled appointment either. (Id.). Further, Davis said he did not have his wound checked by any other medical professional between his discharge from the UK hospital on March 5, 2021 and May 9, 2021. (Id. at 63:14–25). Dr. Brgoch testified that he did not see Davis again until 2022. (Doc. # 60-4 at 58:15– 17). Nearly eight weeks after being discharged from the hospital, Davis was arrested on May 9, 2021 pursuant to a bench warrant issued the night of his injury. (Doc. # 60-3 at 35:3–21, 66:14–18). Prior to being taken to the Boyd County Detention Center (“BCDC”), Davis was taken to King’s Daughters Medical Center (“KDMC”) in Ashland for medical clearance. (Id. at 69:23–70:6; see also Doc. # 64-12). He was shortly cleared for booking, although his attending doctor did note his “surgical hardware” in his left hand, as well as mild swelling. (Doc. # 64-12). Davis was then taken to BCDC for booking. On his initial screening form dated May 10, 2021, BCDC staff reported that Davis was visibly suffering from pain in his hand from a gunshot wound. (Doc. # 64-17). Davis reported to staff that he “struggle[d] getting dressed, showered, undressed” due to his swollen hand. (Id.). While he was in the assessment cell, Davis “notic[ed] the pins and things hanging out of [his] hand[,]” which made him call for medical assistance. (Doc. # 60-3 at 93:18–94:8). On May 11, 2021, Davis fell from the bunk in the assessment cell and further injured his hand. (Id. at 94:17–95:22). Several inmates in the assessment cell alerted deputies of Davis’s injuries. (Id. at 99:2–16, 100:11–24). He was taken to the medical observation room, where jail staff noted he was unable to move his arm or wrist and he had dried blood near his pin sites. (Doc. # 64-17). Staff also noted he had an increased edema, but no changes in color to his hand. (Id.). Davis had an X-ray later that day. (Doc. # 60-3 at 103:2–23). By the time he had his X-ray, Davis had “worked out” all the pins that were previously in his hand. (Id.). Davis alleges that deputies claimed he had “self-mutilated” by taking the pins out of his hand, and he was placed on suicide watch that same day. (Id. at 100:11–24; Doc. # 60-5 at 21:18–22:10). In conjunction with his May 11 medical visits, BCDC staff notified APRN Karen Bennett-Baker, BCDC’s medical director, that Davis would need an outside appointment, which she confirmed via text message on or about May 12, 2021. (Doc. # 60-7 at 34:23–35:25; see also Doc. # 64- 20). Eleven days after his fall, Davis saw Bennett-Baker in person on May 22, 2021 for an examination. (Id. at 22:11–22). She observed discoloration of one of his fingers and inability to straighten his fingers, which she attributed to “some type of nerve injury.” (Id. at 23:5–18). She further observed that Davis’s left arm had experienced significant atrophy and was much smaller than his right arm. (Id. at 23:18–24:6). She further found that Davis’s left middle finger was “turning a gray color” which Baker-Bennett concluded meant it had poor circulation. (Id. at 25:4–13). Davis told Baker-Bennett that he could not use his left hand “for any kind of task” including lifting, dressing himself, bathing himself, or anything involving fine motor coordination. (Id. at 25:11–18). Bennett-Baker testified that Davis told her he removed the pins from his hand because he was “angry that he was in jail” and “angry that he was hurting.” (Id. at 24:18–25:3). Baker-Bennett testified that her immediate concern, based on what Davis told her and his UK medical records, was that he had a brachial plexus injury in his left shoulder that was impacting his mobility. (Id. at 26:5–27:3). She expressed concern that Davis could become permanently disabled if he did not receive prompt treatment. (Id. at 34:10– 35:17). Based on her findings, she prescribed Davis a muscle relaxant to help with his shoulder and hand pain. (Id. at 28:12–23). She further ordered that Davis should be placed in a low bunk, given an arm sling, and dressed in a two-piece uniform to help with his limitations. (Doc. # 64-21). Baker-Bennett also ordered that Davis be seen by a neurologist. (Id.; Doc. # 60-5 at 29:10–16). However, she did not follow up with Davis’s hand surgeon, Dr. Brgoch, because “[Davis] had not kept his follow-up appointments” and “a lot of the

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