United States District Court, W.D. Michigan, Southern Division
ASHTON A. SMITH, Plaintiff,
v.
JOHN DAVIDS et al., Defendants.
OPINION
Paul
L. Maloney United States District Judge
This is
a civil rights action brought by a state prisoner under 42
U.S.C. § 1983. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act,
Pub. L. No. 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321 (1996) (PLRA), the Court
is required to dismiss any prisoner action brought under
federal law if the complaint is frivolous, malicious, fails
to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or seeks
monetary relief from a defendant immune from such relief. 28
U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2), 1915A; 42 U.S.C. §
1997e(c). The Court must read Plaintiff's pro se
complaint indulgently, see Haines v. Kerner, 404
U.S. 519, 520 (1972), and accept Plaintiff's allegations
as true, unless they are clearly irrational or wholly
incredible. Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 33
(1992). Applying these standards, the Court will dismiss
Plaintiff's complaint for failure to state a claim
against Defendants Davids, Washington, and Corizon.
Discussion
I.
Factual Allegations
Plaintiff
is presently incarcerated with the Michigan Department of
Corrections (MDOC) at the Ionia Correctional Facility (ICF)
in Ionia, Ionia County, Michigan. The events about which he
complains, however, occurred at the Michigan Reformatory
(RMI) in Ionia, Ionia County, Michigan. Plaintiff sues MDOC
Director Heidi Washington, Corizon Health, Inc., RMI Warden
John Davids, and RMI Nurses (unknown) Spear and James Leland.
Plaintiff
alleges that he became involved in a verbal altercation with
RMI Nurse Page (not a Defendant) on July 26, 2018, because of
his attempt to avoid waiting in the medication line. Nurse
Page allegedly wrote a false major misconduct against
Plaintiff, which resulted in Plaintiff being sent to
segregation for several weeks. Plaintiff admits that he
“cursed out” Nurse Page, and he asserts that the
misconduct ticket was issued in retaliation for his having
done so. (Compl., ECF No. 1, PageID.4.)
Several
days later, Nurse Page distributed medications to segregation
prisoners, including Plaintiff. As a result of her
interaction with Plaintiff, Page issued a second major
misconduct charge, asserting that Plaintiff had again cursed
her. Plaintiff claims that the misconduct charge was prompted
by Plaintiff's refusal to apologize to Page. Between July
26 and August 8, 2018, Defendant Nurses Leland and Spear, as
well as (unknown) Steward (not a Defendant), “verbally
assaulted” him daily and refused to issue his
medication, stating, “Your [sic] on Page's
shitlist.” (Id.)
Plaintiff
had previously received several corneal transplants. He had
been informed by his ophthalmologist, Dr. C. Hood, that, if
he ever showed the slightest symptom of an eye infection, he
should immediately inform healthcare personnel, because he
was at high risk of permanent partial or total blindness from
a corneal infection. Plaintiff realized that he had an eye
infection on August 11, 2018, when he awoke with his right
eye stuck shut from discharge. He informed Defendants Spear
and Leland during the 1-Unit morning and evening medication
lines. Defendants looked at his eye, but they refused to
provide or refer him for medical care, because he refused to
apologize to Defendant Page.
The
infection became worse on August 12 and 13, developing into a
corneal infection, and the burning and pain became
intolerable. Plaintiff's eye was even more swollen and
red, and a white cloudy mass began to form over the cornea,
obscuring Plaintiff's vision. The eye also discharged
sticky pus. Defendants again refused Plaintiff medical help.
On
August 14, 2018, Plaintiff's eye was glued shut, his eye
was purple and photosensitive, and it had a thick, solid mass
covering nearly a third of his cornea. Plaintiff also
suffered disorientation and vertigo secondary to the
infection. Defendants again looked at the eye, but refused to
provide medical treatment. On August 15, 2018, Plaintiff
awoke with further eye deterioration, resulting in his
inability to see more than shadows. Defendant Leland again
refused to provide him treatment.
Between
August 11 and 15, 2018, Plaintiff repeatedly informed
Defendants Spear and Leland that he possibly had a staph
infection and corneal ulcer. He informed them of his history
of corneal transplants and of the risk an infection posed to
his vision. In addition, Plaintiff alleges that his history
is contained in the prison medical records. Defendants
repeatedly informed Plaintiff that, until he apologized to
Page, he would not be provided treatment. Indeed, Defendant
Leland made the following comments on successive days:
Just because your eye looks angry, that don't make you
special . . . put in a kite and don't ask for any ice, -
Do not know why Slusher gave you ice anyway, . . . you better
get off Page's shitlist.
. . .
Damn it looks worse than yesterday! On a pain scale from 1 to
10, how bad is it? - Good!, should not have called ...