Case Summaries--Fourth Circuit Decisions (Sept. 2019)

This post summarizes published decisions from the Fourth Circuit of interest to state practitioners from September, 2019. Inmate-plaintiff’s complaint about lack of medical care presented sufficient claim for deliberate indifference by prison officials and can proceed; summary judgment reversed Gordon v. Schilling, 937 F.3d 348 (Sept. 4, 2019). The plaintiff, an inmate in the Western District of Virginia, sued the Health Services Director and Chief Physician of the Virginia Department of Corrections (“VDOC”) for Eighth Amendment violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He claimed that the officials acted with deliberate indifference in denying him treatment for Hepatitis C. The VDOC had a policy whereby inmates eligible for parole were “categorically excluded” from receiving treatment for Hepatitis C (among other exclusions). Inmates meeting the VDOC treatment policy requirements were provided testing and medication as needed, including a liver biopsy and “baseline workup.” Inmates not eligible under the policy were assigned to a clinic where they could be examined and have liver function tested twice annually, but did not receive the medication, biopsy, or baseline workup. The plaintiff was diagnosed in prison with the disease in 2008. His ultimate parole date was in 2028. Although he became eligible for discretionary parole in 2002, he never sought a hearing before the parole board. Because he was parole eligible, he was excluded from treatment pursuant to the policy and was provided only the lesser clinic care. His clinic tests showed possible liver damage in 2011, and he filed complaints within the prison system to alert [...]