Due Process Violation

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: DeWayne D. Knight v. Thomas Grossman, Jr., M.D.,

Case No.: 19-1740

Officials: FLAUM, ROVNER, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Due Process Violation

DeWayne Knight is a prisoner who went under the knife for one surgery and Dr. Thomas Grossman, upon seeing during the operation that he made the wrong diagnosis, performed another. Knight brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Dr. Grossman acted with deliberate indifference to his medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment and disregarded his right to informed consent in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court entered summary judgment in Dr. Grossman’s favor on both claims. In considering Knight’s due process claim, the district court correctly observed that we have never endorsed a right to informed consent or pronounced a standard for proving a violation of that right. We do so now by adopting the standard the Second Circuit articulated in Pabon v. Wright, 459 F.3d 241 (2006). But because Knight did not sufficiently prove the elements of either of his claims, we affirm the district court’s judgment.

Affirmed

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.