WDNY — Medical Malpractice: Striplin v. Alves, et al.

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U.S. District Court, WDNY

Medical Malpractice

Eighth Amendment

Striplin v. Alves, et al.
10-cv-06190-CJS
Judges Siragusa

Background: The plaintiff, an inmate in the custody of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, filed a § 1983 complaint alleging the defendants had denied him appropriate medical care. The plaintiff was found unresponsive after he had attempted suicide by taking pills. Unaware that he had taken the pills, medical personnel believed he had overdosed on narcotics and subsequently injected him in the arm with Narcan to make him conscious. A few days later, the plaintiff informed the medical staff that he had taken the pills and that his arm was sore. Medical staff examined his arm and found nothing wrong with it, despite the plaintiff’s contentions that he could not move it. Days later the plaintiff fell unconscious and he was transported to a hospital where it was determined that he had suffered a brachial plexus injury in his arm.

Ruling: The court granted summary judgment for the defendant. The court found that it was an appropriate to use of the Narcan on the plaintiff. More importantly, there was no evidence that the Narcan had played any part of the injury as medical staff at the hospital indicated that the brachial plexus injury could have only occurred as a result of a severe impact. Finally, the court held that the Eighth Amendment could not be a vehicle for bringing a medical malpractice claim and that negligence constituting medical malpractice, without more, will not establish a constitutional claim.

Joesph Striplin, pro se; Gary M. Levine of the New York State Office of the Attorney General for the defendants