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Minor v. Barwick11/25/2003
of Barwick's overdose.
Plaintiffs argue that Minor should have sent Barwick to the hospital. Farmer, however, does not require us to decide, with the benefit of hindsight, what Minor should have done. Rather, Farmer requires only that we decide whether he responded reasonably to a known risk of substantial harm. In light of what Minor had been told by others, including Barwick, we cannot say that he acted unreasonably.
Plaintiffs also argue that Minor's comments that he did not care whether Barwick lived or died show that he was aware of the risk of substantial harm. We do not disagree with this argument; however, as we note above, it is not enough for plaintiffs to show Minor's knowledge of a risk of substantial harm. Plaintiffs also must show that Minor responded unreasonably to, or deliberately disregarded, a known risk of substantial harm. Though Minor's comments to Barwick may have been abusive and reprehensible, they do not obscure the fact that Minor summoned medical personnel shortly after learning of the overdose. Because plaintiffs have not shown that Minor displayed deliberate indifference to Barwick's serious medical needs, the trial court erred in denying Minor's motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' § 1983 claim.
(b) Carter. Carter testified that she overheard Jones and Chandler discussing Barwick's possible overdose and the fact that he had been examined earlier by medical personnel. Sometime after hearing this conversation, Chandler sent Carter to re-examine Barwick. Even though Barwick allegedly denied the overdose to Carter, there is evidence that Davenport told Carter that Barwick had taken 110 Tylenol pills. One inmate also testified that Barwick told Carter that he had overdosed. According to Davenport, Carter concluded that Barwick was fine. Davenport then repeatedly told Carter that Barwick was ill and pleaded with her to transport him to the hospital.
In Howard, supra, we found that because jail LPNs deliberately ignored the pleas of a diabetic inmate, his cellmates, and deputies either to summon a doctor or to transport the inmate to the hospital, there was a factual question as to whether their response amounted to deliberate indifference:
As an established policy or practice, the LPNs' examination, treatment, and delay in transfer to a hospital of an obviously critically ill inmate, rather than examination and treatment by a physician, constitute such totally inadequate medical care that a jury may find that it constituted non-treatment. Id. at 406 (1) (i).
While we recognize certain factual differences between this case and Howard, our decision in that case supports our finding here. At a minimum, plaintiffs have presented sufficient evidence from which reasonable jurors could find that Carter refused to act despite knowledge of the substantial risk of harm to Barwick. The facts presented by plaintiffs show more than mere negligence/medical malpractice. Accordingly, the trial court correctly denied Carter's motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' § 1983 claim.
2. State Claims. Minor contends the trial court erred in denying his motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' various state claims, because the Georgia Tort Claims Act ("GTCA"), OCGA § 50-21-25, forbids plaintiffs from pursuing their claims against Minor in his individual capacity. The trial court granted Carter's motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' state claims and should have done the same for Minor. Plaintiffs do not address this enumeration of error except to argue that Minor never "actually" moved for summary judgment on these claims. We disagree. The record reflects that Minor moved for summary judgment on plaintiffs' s
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