Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Damage Award

By: Derek Hawkins//August 5, 2019//

Damage Award

By: Derek Hawkins//August 5, 2019//

Listen to this article

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: LeRoy Palmer v. Craig P. Franz, RN,

Case No.: 18-1384

Officials: BAUER, ROVNER, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Damage Award

LeRoy Palmer(“Palmer”)is an inmate in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections (“IDOC”). In lieu of a left‐hand, Palmer has a nub which terminates at the wrist and does not have any functional fingers. Prior to his residency at the Northern Reception and Classification Center(the “NRC”),Palmer was a resident of the Shawnee Correctional Center(“Shawnee”).While at Shawnee, the medical director issued Palmer a low bunk pass for an indefinite duration.

In preparation for a court appearance in Cook County, Palmer was transferred to the NRC on January 11, 2012. When he arrived defendant Craig P. Franz (“Franz”), an employee of Wexford Health Services, Inc. (“Wexford”), conducted a routine intake screening. A transferred inmate is accompanied by a transfer summary completed by the originating institution. The top half of Palmer’s intake form had been completed by a nurse at Shawnee and noted Palmer’s missing hand. Franz noted the deformity but ignored Palmer’s explicit request for a low bunk permit. Franz took no other steps in conjunction with Palmer’s deformity or his request for an accommodation: he did not issue a permit, notify any other member of the medical staff, or put Palmer in queue to see a doctor.

When Palmer was escorted to his assigned cell the bottom bunk was occupied. Palmer informed the guard that he had a low bunk pass at Shawnee but was told that without a pass for the NRC, the guard could not do anything. Palmer was forced to use the top bunk.

Over the next eleven days Palmer made two requests to see a doctor to get a low bunk pass; neither request was acknowledged. On the morning of January 22, 2012, Palmer fell while attempting to climb down from the upper bunk. He landed on his knee and suffered a severe injury. Following his fall from the top bunk, Palmer was issued a low bunk permit and assigned to a low bunk. From February 2, 2012, through July 11, 2012, Palmer was transferred throughout the Illinois correctional system. He was transferred from the NRC to the Cook County Jail, back to the NRC, and back to Shawnee before he was again transferred to the NRC. In April and August of 2012, Palmer filed grievances with IDOC because he was unable to secure a low bunk permit and as a result he was injured. On September 12, 2012, after not receiving a response to his grievances, Palmer appealed the apparent denials to the Administrative Review Board, which also went unanswered.

On March 5, 2013, Palmer filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. On March 11, 2013, the district court granted Palmer’s motions to proceed in forma pauperis and for the appointment of counsel pursuant to the local rule. Finally, the operative complaint (Fourth Amended Complaint) was filed. This Complaint alleged, inter alia, that Franz was deliberately indifferent to Palmer’s serious medical need when he refused to issue a low bunk permit and that this constituted a violation of the Eighth Amendment. On September 18, 2017, the district court granted  Franz’s motion for summary judgment. The court determined that Franz was not deliberately indifferent to Palmer’s serious medical need because he was not authorized to issue a low bunk permit and he was unaware of any issue regarding Palmer’s bunk assignment. And, Palmer’s negligence claim raised issues of medical judgment, and necessarily implicated the Healing Arts and Medical Practices Act that Palmer had not complied with. The district court entered judgment in favor of Franz on Palmer’s Eighth Amendment claim and dismissed Palmer’s negligence claim without prejudice.

Here, the evidence is enough to allow a reasonable jury to conclude that: Palmer suffered from an objectively serious medical condition; Franz knew of the heightened risk of harm; and Franz deliberately failed to act in the face of that harm. The district court applied these measures to the jury’s verdict and concluded the punitive awards were reasonable and comported with due process requirements. We agree and see no reason to disturb either of the jury awards assessed against Christensen. Because a reasonable jury could have concluded that Franz’s refusal to act was a conscious decision to ignore the risk of harm posed to Palmer, we reverse the decision of the district court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Reversed and remanded

Full Text


Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests