Torkelson, Jeffrey v. Mile Bluff Medical Center, 3:20-cv-01129

Background

In March 2019 Torkelson, while in restrictive housing at New Lisbon Correctional Institution (NLCI), fell and was taken to Mile Bluff Medical Center; cervical x‑rays were taken but no MRI.
After return to NLCI he submitted repeated Health Service Requests (HSRs) reporting numbness, tingling, and pain in his arms, hands, and left leg/foot.
Approximately five months later he underwent surgery at Gunderson Health Care for a swollen spinal cord but alleges delayed treatment limited improvement; he now has balance problems and later-diagnosed bilateral carpal tunnel.
He sued Mile Bluff, Gunderson, DOC Secretary Kevin Carr, Warden Daniel Winkleski, NLCI HSU staff (Huneke, Hoffman, Hams) and nurses (Birdsil, Frisk, Dobbert, Wagner, Martin) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference.
The court screened the pro se complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, concluded it failed to satisfy Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 (insufficient factual detail about who did what and when), dismissed the complaint without prejudice, and gave Torkelson until January 26, 2022 to file an amended complaint.
The court denied his motion for appointment of counsel without prejudice, instructing he must first attempt to contact lawyers (typically three) and show he cannot competently litigate this stage himself.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Adequacy of pleading for § 1983 deliberate indifference and personal involvement	Torkelson alleges serious injury and ongoing symptoms and that defendants delayed diagnosis/treatment (no MRI; delay to surgery)	Complaint lacks dates and specific facts tying individual defendants to particular acts/omissions	Dismissed without prejudice for failure to meet Rule 8; plaintiff may amend with specific dates, symptoms reported, and each defendant’s response
Liability of private medical providers (Mile Bluff, Gunderson) under § 1983	Corporate providers contracted with DOC and are named for their role in care	Corporations cannot be held vicariously liable under § 1983 absent an unconstitutional policy or custom (Monell)	Dismissed as to Mile Bluff and Gunderson: no allegations of an unconstitutional policy or custom supporting municipal/corporate liability
Supervisor liability (Carr, Winkleski)	Named as supervisory officials	Supervisory status alone is insufficient; liability requires personal involvement, knowledge and facilitation, or culpable policy/training choices	Dismissed for lack of personal involvement or allegations showing they knew and condoned unconstitutional conduct or maintained defective policies/training
Appointment of counsel	Torkelson requests court-appointed counsel	Court requires plaintiff to show reasonable effort to retain counsel (typically contact three attorneys) and that case complexity exceeds plaintiff’s capacity	Denied without prejudice; not warranted at this stage, may renew after showing efforts and incapacity

Key Cases Cited

Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference standard)
Forbes v. Edgar, 112 F.3d 262 (7th Cir. 1997) (deliberate indifference elements)
Gutierrez v. Peters, 111 F.3d 1364 (7th Cir. 1997) (what constitutes a serious medical need)
Marshall v. Knight, 445 F.3d 965 (7th Cir. 2006) (Rule 8 notice pleading requirement in § 1983 suits)
St. John's United Church of Christ v. City of Chicago, 502 F.3d 616 (7th Cir. 2007) (Twombly plausibility standard applied)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (pleading must state a claim plausibly)
Minix v. Canarecci, 597 F.3d 824 (7th Cir. 2010) (individual § 1983 liability requires personal involvement)
Woodward v. Corr. Med. Servs., 368 F.3d 917 (7th Cir. 2004) (private contractors treated like municipalities for § 1983 claims)
Shields v. Illinois Dep’t of Corr., 746 F.3d 782 (7th Cir. 2014) (Monell standard applies to private corporations performing public functions)
Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (municipal liability requires unconstitutional policy or custom)
Zimmerman v. Tribble, 226 F.3d 568 (7th Cir. 2000) (no supervisory liability absent personal involvement)
Matthews v. City of East St. Louis, 675 F.3d 703 (7th Cir. 2012) (supervisor liability for knowing facilitation or deliberate indifference)
City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (supervisory liability for deficient training/policy in limited circumstances)
Jackson v. County of McLean, 953 F.2d 1070 (7th Cir. 1992) (requirement to show efforts to find counsel before court recruitment)
Pruitt v. Mote, 503 F.3d 647 (7th Cir. 2007) (standard for appointing counsel — case complexity vs. plaintiff capacity)
Ray v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc., 706 F.3d 864 (7th Cir. 2013) (no constitutional right to appointed counsel in civil cases)
Luttrell v. Nickel, 129 F.3d 933 (7th Cir. 1997) (same)