Clydе Dene Miles, Texas prisoner # 1275133, alleged under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs. He sought damages and injunctive and declaratory relief. The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that they were
Under the doctrine of qualified immunity, government officials acting within their discretionary authority are immune from civil liability for damages if their conduct does not violate clearly establishеd constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. See Flores v. City of Palacios,
In this is interlocutory appeal from the denial of qualified immunity, our jurisdiction is limited. We may not review the district court’s conclusion that sufficient evidence supports a finding that the defendants engaged in a certain сourse of conduct. See Kinney v. Weaver,
At the summary judgment stage, “the plaintiff can no longer rest on the pleadings ... and the court looks to the evidence before it (in the light most favorable to the plaintiff) when conducting the [test for qualified immunity.]” Behrens v. Pelletier,
Here, the defendants argue that the district court did not set out the facts that it assumed to be true. Although it is true that the district court did not discuss the assumed facts with specificity, we need not order a limited remand for further explication, as the district court’s reasoning is sufficiently clear. See id. The district court based its ruling on Miles’s assertion that he was denied appointments with specialists for his knee problem, a knee replacement surgery, the use of his walker, and adequate pain medication for a year or more.
In order to establish an Eighth Amendment claim for dеliberate indifference to medical needs, a prisoner must show that prison officials knew of and disregarded an excessive risk to inmate health or safety; “the official must both be aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and he must also draw the inference.” Farmer v. Brennan,
In the instant case, Miles supported his deliberate indifference claim with assertions in his verified complaint and copies of his many grievancеs and sick call requests complaining about his alleged lack of medical care. See Hart v. Hairston,
According to his evidence, Miles began experiencing knee problems while incarcerated in 2007. An orthopedic doctor subsequently told him that he needed knee replacement surgery. He claims, however, that despite his repeated requests the surgery and adequate treatment and medication have been denied or delayed. He claims that he was given a walker in 2008 to assist with mobility but that in November 2009 defendant King took the walker away contrary to his medical needs. King and defendant Daniel refused to give the walker back until October 2010 when a doctor reviewed Miles’s medical records and ordered its return. Meanwhile, according to Miles, without the use of the walker he suffered numerous falls, additional injury, and increased pain, all of which was reported to prison officials in grievancеs and sick call requests.
Miles further alleged that he was prevented from seeing orthopedic specialists for consults and x-rays on several occasions in 2010 and 2011 because the defendants failed to have security escort him to his medical appointments. As a result, Miles was listed as a “no show,” the appointments were canceled, and Miles experienced continued and prolonged pain and suffering. The canceled appointments caused long delays in receiving treatment because it often took up to three months to reschedule а new appointment. Finally, Miles alleged that he must not take pain medications that may cause harm to his liver because he has hepatitis C, yet defendant Daniel prescribed pain medication that was “hard on his liver” rather than appropriate and otherwise available medication. Miles also alleged that he personally spoke with defendants Warden Kroll аnd Major Gorsuch and that he wrote to Warden Rich about his medical care problems but to no avail.
The defendants argue on appeal that Miles has alleged only negligence оr a disagreement with his medical treatment. In support of their summary judgment motion in the district court, the defendants submitted only copies of Miles’s grievances rather than his medical records. The prison responses to the grievances do indicate that Miles was medically evaluated on numerous occasions, that he received x-rays more than once, and that he was presсribed various pain medications, but the responses do not conclusively resolve questions about Miles’s treatment.
Miles also submitted copies of the grievances, which he incorporаted by reference
In short, as it currently stands, the record before us shows there are fact issues concerning Miles’s need for the wаlker, alleged injuries suffered without the walker, the reason for the missed or delayed medical appointments, the availability of allegedly proper medication, and the absencе of knee surgery. Because we may not review the existence of these fact issues and must view them in the light most favorable to Miles, we conclude that the record does not establish that thе defendants are entitled to qualified immunity because, if proven, the facts could show that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to Miles’s serious medical needs. See Domino,
This is not to say that qualified immunity may not ultimately defeat Miles’s claims, as the ultimate resolution of the factual disputes may show that the defendants are qualifiedly immune from liability. See Kinney,
AFFIRMED.
Notes
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.