Conley v. Birch

Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendant-prison doctor’s motion for summary judgment in section 1983 action alleging that defendant was deliberately indifferent to plaintiff-prisoner’s medical needs by declining to promptly order x-ray of plaintiff’s injured hand that resulted in plaintiff suffering chronic pain and limited mobility in said hand. Prison nurse, who originally saw plaintiff, concluded that plaintiff suffered from “possible/probable fracture,” and although defendant, upon speaking with nurse, first prescribed ibuprofen and ice for plaintiff’s hand, reasonable jury could find that defendant strongly suspected at that time that plaintiff’s hand had been fractured and yet refused to take reasonable measures to evaluate plaintiff’s injury by waiting five days to order x-ray.