Jones v. Mathews

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants-prison officials’ motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-prisoner estate’s section 1983 action alleging that defendant-prison supervisor was deliberately indifferent to prisoner's serious medical condition by acting with indifference to decedent’s symptoms of heroin withdrawal that ultimately led to his death. Record did not support plaintiff’s claim that prison supervisor was aware that prisoner was experiencing opiate withdrawal, where: (1) by 4:00 in afternoon after prisoner had ingested heroin prisoner was still not showing withdrawal symptoms; (2) prisoner was not stating she was experiencing withdrawal symptoms when prison supervisor spoke to her; (3) record showed that prisoner died of diphenhydramine toxicity that resulted in prisoner ingesting ills that were hidden on prisoner and were ingested after supervisor’s shift. As such, no reasonable jury could conclude that prison supervisor was aware that there was substantial risk that prisoner would die of diphenhydramine toxicity from ingesting smuggled pills. Also, Dist. Ct. could properly dismiss plaintiff’s Wrongful Death Action, where standard for assessing whether conduct was willful or wanton for purposes of establishing Wrongful Death Act claim is same as deliberate indifference standard that plaintiff did not establish in section 1983 action.