Civil Rights
Eighth Amendment

Failure to test a prisoner for cancer is not deliberate indifference to his medical needs.
"[T]here is no evidence that Kayira knew of and disregarded the risk of cancer even if he was aware that it was a possibility. Duckworth points to the expert testimony of an experienced urologist stating that cancer should always be ruled out first before other conditions when a patient has gross hematuria. This may be a fair statement of how a reasonable doctor would treat Duckworth's symptoms, but it does not shed any light into Dr. Kayira's state of mind. Nor did Dr. Kayira's chosen course of treatment so depart from accepted professional practice as to allow the jury to infer indifference. Dr. Kayira tried to cure what he thought was wrong with Duckworth, an opinion he arrived at using medical judgment. In addition, Duckworth points to Dr. Kayira's statement assuring him that he did not have cancer during his first visit. If anything, this assurance only indicates that Dr. Kayira did not think that Duckworth had cancer. As was the case with Dr. Ahmad, it may have been prudent for Dr. Kayira to rule cancer out first. But this is just to reiterate the standard for medical malpractice, which falls short of deliberate indifference."

Affirmed.

07-3618 Duckworth v. Ahmad

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Herndon, J., Flaum, J.

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