Shields v. Ill. Dept. of Corrections

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants-prison officials and medical personnel's motion for summary judgment in section 1983 action alleging that defendants were deliberately indifferent to plaintiff-prisoner’s injury to his shoulder. Plaintiff failed to establish cause of action under section 1983 against defendant-corporation that supplied medical personnel to prison since: (1) plaintiff failed to identify corporation’s custom or policy that was responsible for plaintiff’s injury; and (2) respondeat superior liability does not apply to private corporations under section 1983. Moreover, with respect to defendants-individual medical personnel, plaintiff failed to present evidence that any defendant knew both that there was risk of harm to plaintiff caused by delay in treatment of plaintiff’s injury, and that said defendants consciously disregarded said risk. Fact that plaintiff was mistakenly referred to non-specialist, or that other defendants agreed with recommendation not to treat plaintiff’s injury with surgery did not require different result. Moreover, plaintiff could not sue two other medical providers under section 1983, where said providers were not “state actors” due to their infrequent and transitory relationship with penal system.