United States District Court, D. Arizona
ORDER
Cindy
K. Jqreensonr United States District Judge.
Pending
before the Court is the Motion for Appointment of Medical
Expert to Plaintiff (Doc. 85) filed by Juley Scott Williams
(“Williams”).
Factual
and Procedural Background
In his
Complaint, Williams alleges that he was diagnosed with lung
cancer by Banner Medical Center (“Banner”) in
December 2016. In January 2017, Banner sent an “urgent
medical directive” to the Arizona Department of
Corrections (“ADC”) and Corizon Healthcare Inc.
(“Corizon”) stating that Williams needed a
biopsy. Neither ADC nor Corizon informed Williams of
Banner's directive. On February 8, 2017, Williams filed a
Health Needs Request (“HNR”) to Corizon as
followup to his December diagnosis by Banner; the HNR
requested, in part, to know the “status of
[Williams's] condition/treatment.” On February 22,
2017, Corizon informed Williams of Banner's directive,
and Williams was told that “Corizon
administrators” would be “remind[ed]” about
Banner's directive.
On
February 27, 2017, still not having received the biopsy,
Williams filed an informal complaint with Corizon. On March
7, 2017, Corizon responded that the request for a biopsy had
been “submitted.” On March 20, 2017, still not
having received the biopsy, Williams filed a formal grievance
against Corizon. On March 27, 2017, Williams was transported
back to Banner and received the biopsy. The biopsy confirmed
that Williams had lung cancer. Williams was also informed by
Banner physicians that a second, “more probing”
biopsy was necessary.
On
April 10, 2017, Williams received a response to his March 20
grievance, stating that his second biopsy had been
“scheduled.” Despite making repeated follow-up
inquiries, Williams did not receive a biopsy. Williams
alleges that “medical staff” informed him that
Corizon had “reversed the approval” for his
second biopsy. Williams alleges that his request for a second
biopsy was “resubmitted” in June.
Williams
alleges, in Count I of his Complaint[1], that Ryan, ADC Director of
Health Services Richard Pratt (“Pratt”), and
Corizon violated Williams' Eighth Amendment rights. In
its August 21, 2017, Screening Order, this Court found
Williams had adequately stated a claim for relief against
Ryan, Pratt, and Corizon.
Williams
also alleges that he was diagnosed in 2015 with
“vocal/throat” cancer, for which he received
radiation therapy that successfully removed the cancer.
However, Williams was informed by his physicians that he
needed to quit smoking, and was prescribed smoking cessation
medication (“SCM”) to assist him. Williams
alleges he has been unable to obtain SCM while incarcerated,
either through his prescription or otherwise. In January
2017, Williams submitted an HNR requesting that his SCM
prescription be filled. He received a response the next day
stating that SCM was not provided. Williams submitted an
informal grievance asking why SCM was not available; Corizon
responded by providing Plaintiff with a “Stop
Smoking” handout.
Williams
filed a grievance requesting that his SCM prescription be
honored, or that he be allowed to purchase SCM at the Keefe
Commissary. Williams did not receive a response. Williams
alleges that he was informed that ADC policy prohibits
providing or selling SCM products to inmates; Williams also
alleges that “old timer prisoners” have told him
that SCM products were previously available. On February 22,
2017, Williams was diagnosed with emphysema, and again
instructed to quit smoking. Williams “requested”
that Corizon provide him with SCM, but was again told that
ADC does not permit inmates to receive SCM.
In
Count II of the Complaint, Williams alleges that Ryan, Pratt,
Corizon, and Keefe Commissary have violated his Eighth
Amendment rights by “prevent[ing] Plaintiff from
attaining nicotine sobriety, ” and that by refusing to
provide SCM they have “caus[ed Williams] to continue
smoking” to the detriment of his health. In its
Screening Order, the Court found Williams had stated a claim
for relief against Ryan, Pratt, and Corizon.
In
Count Three, Williams re-alleges that he previously had
throat cancer, and has currently been diagnosed with lung
cancer and emphysema, and has been instructed by his doctors
to stop smoking and to avoid second hand smoke. However,
Williams alleges that second hand smoke is “ubiquitous,
” and is the “most significant contributor to his
inability to stop smoking, and is the proximate cause of his
perpetual relapses.” Williams alleges that he has filed
informal complaints that “observed” that ADC
lacked classes about quitting smoking, and that ADC
prohibited SCM. Williams further alleges that, despite being
informed that he needed to stop smoking, and being diagnosed
with several smoking-related diseases, “it is the
inviting smell of tobacco in the air that entices Plaintiff
to smoke tobacco, ” and that “the physical and
operational design of [ADC's] system of prison complexes
and facilities” makes it impossible for him to escape
second hand smoke. Williams also alleges that “due to
the architectural and operational design of [ADC] buildings,
cells, dorms, and living areas, Williams is forced to live in
an institutionalized life where second hand smoke is a
harmful condition of confinement causing him physical health
problems related to” his cancer and emphysema. Williams
alleges that Ryan and Keefe Commissary have violated his
Eighth Amendment rights, as well as his “liberty
interest in enjoying his rights prescribed by [the Smoke Free
Arizona Act, Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 36-601.01 et seq.] as
secured by the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court's
Screening Order found that Williams had stated an adequate
claim for relief in Count III against Ryan.
The
Court dismissed Keefe Commissary and ordered Defendants Ryan,
Pratt, and Corizon to answer the Complaint.
Williams
received a surgical biopsy on June 20, 2018.[2] All five lymph
nodes tested were negative for metastatic carcinoma and no
malignancy was identified. The findings were deemed
consistent with non-necrotizing granulomas. Williams was
informed that his lymph nodes were negative for malignancy on
July 25, 2018.
Prior
to the August 30, 2018, deadline set by this Court's
Scheduling Order (Docs. 30 and 76), Defendants filed a Motion
for Summary Judgment (Doc. 81). Williams has not filed a
response. However, Williams has filed ...