Dorothy Slade v. City of Marshall Texas, et, 814 F.3d 263

Marcus Slade, agitated and naked, was tasered and restrained by Marshall police on Jan. 4, 2013; officers transported him to jail within about five minutes.
Marcus was speaking during transport but was found unresponsive shortly after arrival; CPR and paramedics were summoned and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Medical examiner determined cause of death as PCP toxicity.
Dorothy Slade sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for wrongful death, alleging officers were deliberately indifferent by failing to obtain medical care until Marcus became unresponsive.
The district court granted summary judgment for the City, holding Slade failed to prove causation between the alleged denial of medical care and Marcus’s death; Slade appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Texas wrongful-death causation rule bars recovery under §1983	Slade: apply an "obvious medical need" exception (per Owensby) so she need not prove death was more likely than not caused by the officers' omission	City: Texas law requires proof the defendant's wrongful act more likely than not caused death; no such proof here	Held: Texas causation requirement applies; Slade conceded insufficient evidence of causation, so summary judgment affirmed
Whether federal law (§1988/§1983) requires a federal "loss-of-chance" doctrine instead of Texas rule	Slade: §1988 permits applying federal common law loss-of-chance to avoid state rule that bars recovery absent proof death was caused	City: §1988 only displaces state law when inconsistent with federal law/policy; Texas rule is consistent with §1983 deterrence and compensation aims	Held: Texas rule is not inconsistent with federal law or §1983 policy; loss-of-chance doctrine not applied
Whether Owensby creates an exception to state wrongful-death causation requirement	Slade: relies on Owensby (Sixth Circuit) that obvious need may relieve plaintiff of proving causation	City: Owensby addressed proving a constitutional violation (deliberate indifference), not the separate state-law causation element for wrongful death	Held: Owensby does not excuse meeting state wrongful-death causation; it does not control this Fifth Circuit wrongful-death causation inquiry

Phillips ex rel. Phillips v. Monroe County, 311 F.3d 369 (5th Cir. 2002) (plaintiff must prove both §1983 violation and state wrongful-death causation)
Kramer v. Lewisville Mem’l Hosp., 858 S.W.2d 397 (Tex. 1993) (Texas Wrongful Death Act requires injury that causes death; rejects loss-of-chance recovery)
Owensby v. City of Cincinnati, 414 F.3d 596 (6th Cir. 2005) (discusses when obvious need obviates medical proof to establish constitutional violation)
Blackmore v. Kalamazoo County, 390 F.3d 890 (6th Cir. 2004) (obvious medical need can be sufficient to show constitutional violation)
Robertson v. Wegmann, 436 U.S. 584 (1978) (§1988 requires use of state law where federal law is deficient unless inconsistent)
Memphis Cmty. Sch. Dist. v. Stachura, 477 U.S. 299 (1986) (§1983 damages aim to compensate for actual harm)
Carey v. Piphus, 435 U.S. 247 (1978) (objective of §1983 damages is compensation for injuries caused by constitutional deprivations)