Silva v. Baptist Health S. Fla., Inc.
Silva v. Baptist Health S. Fla., Inc.
Opinion of the Court
THIS MATTER is before the Court on the supplement to motion for summary judgment on the issue of deliberate indifference filed by Defendants Baptist Health South Florida, Inc. ("Baptist Health"); Baptist Hospital of Miami, Inc. ("Baptist Hospital"); and South Miami Hospital, Inc. ("SMH"). (DE 156).
I. BACKGROUND
This is a disability discrimination case. Defendants are two Miami-area non-profit hospitals and their non-profit parent company. Plaintiffs Cheylla Silva and John Paul Jebian are unrelated deaf individuals who allege that, during their many visits to Defendants' facilities, Defendants ineffectively communicated with them and were deliberately indifferent to their federally-protected rights. Consequently, Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit seeking injunctive relief and compensatory damages pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the "RA"). The Eleventh Circuit determined that Plaintiffs' injunctive relief claims may proceed to trial because genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether Defendants provided Plaintiffs with effective communication as required by the ADA and RA. (DE 149); see also Silva v. Baptist Health S. Florida, Inc. ,
By their count, Silva and Jebian visited Defendants' facilities a combined 59 times between March 2009 and April 2016. (DE 158-1; DE 158-2; DE 158-3).
Plaintiffs' argument rests entirely on their generalized and identical affidavit statements that during each visit, they "repeatedly requested that hospital staff provide a live ASL interpreter to help ... communicate with nurses and doctors regarding ... condition and care. On most occasions, no interpreter was present. On some occasions, an interpreter was provided." (DE 61-13 ¶ 7; DE 61-14 ¶ 7). They state, without identifying specific instances, that "[o]n some occasions, hospital staff would attempt to use a video relay interpreting ('VRI') machine to communicate with [them] ... [h]owever, the machine was inoperable or unusable. Sometimes, it appeared that hospital staff could not figure out how to operate the machine. Other times, the picture would be blocked, frozen, or degraded." (DE 61-13 ¶ 10; DE 61-14 ¶ 10).
Defendants respond that they have promulgated and diligently adhered to policies for the provision of interpreter services for the deaf. (DE 59 ¶ 3). Those policies provide for a range of services to assist deaf patients and their family members. (DE 59 ¶ 7). One of those services is an in-person interpreter. (DE 59 ¶ 7). Another is VRI, although VRI is not available at Baptist Health's outpatient facilities. (DE 59 ¶¶ 7, 9).
II. LEGAL STANDARD
Summary judgment is appropriate "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The movant "bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of [the record] which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett ,
After the movant has met its burden under Rule 56(c), the burden shifts to the nonmoving party who "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. ,
In evaluating a defendant's motion for summary judgment, the Court views all the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and resolves all reasonable doubts about the facts in favor of the plaintiff. See Liese v. Indian River Cty. Hosp. Dist. ,
III. DISCUSSION
Plaintiffs request compensatory damages under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act,
To establish a right to compensatory damages pursuant to § 504 of the RA, Plaintiffs must prove: (1) that they are qualified individuals with a disability, (2) who were excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of Defendants' services, programs, or activities, or otherwise discriminated against, (3) on account of their disability, and (4) that the exclusion or denial was the result of intentional discrimination. Martin v. Halifax Healthcare Sys. ,
Four Eleventh Circuit decisions guide the Court's analysis of whether genuine disputes of material fact remain as to deliberate indifference. First, in Liese , the plaintiffs repeatedly asked orally and in writing for interpreters, but were not given ASL interpreters either in-person or through an available video interpreter service.
Then, on the other end of the spectrum, there are two cases where the Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for defendant hospitals. In McCullum v. Orlando Regional Healthcare System, Inc. ,
Similarly, in Martin , the Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the defendant hospital system where three deaf patient plaintiffs sued the defendant hospitals for failing to provide "continuous live interpreting services" during their hospital stays. Martin ,
Finally, in Sunderland v. Bethesda Hospital Inc. ,
Based on the framework provided by these four cases, the Court finds that, in this case, there is no genuine dispute of material fact as to whether Defendants acted with deliberate indifference towards Plaintiffs. As noted, "deliberate indifference plainly requires more than gross negligence. Rather, deliberate indifference requires that the indifference be a 'deliberate choice,' which is an 'exacting standard.' " Liese ,
Plaintiffs also incorrectly assert that prior settlements, on their own, put Defendants on notice that harm to a federally protected right is likely. Indeed, the case relied upon by Plaintiffs acknowledges that "the relevance of the past complaints is limited by the fact that the hospital subsequently amended its policy designed to prevent violations." Proctor v. Prince George's Hosp. Ctr. ,
Finally, in support of their claims, Plaintiffs submitted three charts, with supporting medical records, summarizing their visits to Defendants' facilities over the years (DE 158-1; DE 158-2; DE 158-3). But these charts, which were submitted in violation of this Court's Order of July 5, 2017 (DE 154), do not establish that Defendants acted with deliberate indifference. Indeed, of the forty-five
*1342DE 158-2 ¶ 3). On five occasions, Defendants either refused VRI or refused to be transported to facilities that provided auxiliary aids. (DE 59-1 ¶ 112). And for the remaining visits, Defendants communicated with Plaintiffs through family members and written notes, but there is no evidence that Plaintiffs complained about these accommodations or that the communication was ineffective at the time they were being treated. (See generally DE 158).
In fact, there is no evidence in the record that Plaintiffs ever complained about the accommodations received in any of the visits. Plaintiff Silva admits that she had no issues with Defendants except for her first visit back in 2009 (DE 59-1 at 83). And even for that visit, Plaintiff Silva admits that she "allowed" her brother to interpret, because her brother "knew what was going on," "knows [her] health" and "already knew what was wrong with [her]." (DE 59-1 at 85). Similarly, there is no evidence in the record that Plaintiff Jebian ever complained about the accommodations provided. Although Plaintiffs generally claim that the communication between Plaintiffs and Defendants was ineffective, Plaintiffs failed to raise any complaints to the hospital at the time of their visits and now fail to specify what information they did not understand during these encounters. There is also no evidence that Silva, Jebian or any of the family members that assisted with ASL interpretation told Defendants' staff at that time that the family members were unqualified to interpret for Plaintiffs. See McCullum ,
The Court finds that Defendants' failure to obtain a live interpreter or VRI-in light of their efforts to provide alternative aids and in light of Plaintiffs' failure to contemporaneously complain about the accommodations provided-at most constituted negligence, and was not a "deliberate choice" to deny Plaintiffs rights as the law requires. See Liese ,
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons above, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendants' motion *1343for summary judgment on Plaintiffs' compensatory damages claims (DE 60; DE 156) is GRANTED and the case will proceed only as to Plaintiffs' claims for injunctive relief. Plaintiffs' claims for compensatory damages under § 504 of the RA are DISMISSED .
DONE AND ORDERED in chambers in Miami, Florida, this 30th day of March, 2018.
The Court addresses this issue after more than three years of litigation. Defendants previously filed a motion for summary judgment arguing, in part, that the undisputed facts show they were not deliberately indifferent to Plaintiffs' federally protected rights (DE 60 at 10-16). Plaintiffs' response offered no direct opposition to these deliberate indifference arguments. (DE 79). Consequently, in granting summary judgment at an earlier stage in the proceedings on a separate issue, the Court did not address Defendants' deliberate indifference arguments. (DE 133). On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the Court's order granting summary judgment as to injunctive relief, but remanded on the question of whether a triable issue of fact existed as to Defendants' alleged deliberate indifference. (DE 149 at 32). After remand, the Court permitted the Parties to brief the issue on the existing record and Defendants filed the supplement now before the Court. (DE 156). Plaintiffs Cheylla Silva and John Paul Jebian then filed a response that added new material to the record in contravention of the Court's instructions. (DE 158). Defendants then filed a reply in support of their supplement (DE 159) and the Court held oral argument (DE 160). At oral argument, the Court permitted Defendants the opportunity to file a response to Plaintiffs' new evidence (DE 162). After oral argument, Plaintiffs filed an additional notice of supplemental authority without asking leave of the Court. (DE 161).
The operative complaint (DE 12) alludes to only 18 visits that are appropriate predicates for damages pursuant to the RA: (1) Jebian's November 5, 2010 visit to Baptist Hospital as a companion to his father, who was still suffering from a heart ailment; (2) Silva's November 29, 2010 visit to Baptist Hospital due to chest and abdominal pain; (3) Silva's January 3, 2011 visit to Baptist Hospital due to stomach pain; (4) Silva's January 4, 2011 visit to Baptist Hospital due to stomach pain; (5) Silva's March 26, 2011 visit to a Baptist Health outpatient facility due to finger pain; (6) Silva's April 2, 2011 visit to Baptist Hospital due to finger pain; (7) Silva's May 9, 2011 visit to Baptist Hospital due to abdominal paint, which turned out to be acute appendicitis requiring an appendectomy ; (8) Silva's May 20, 2011 visit to Baptist Hospital due to abdominal pain; (9) Silva's December 20, 2011 visit to a Baptist Health outpatient facility due to vaginal bleeding; (10) Silva's April 16, 2012 visit to Baptist Hospital due to chest pains; (11) Jebian's July 11, 2012 visit to Baptist Hospital due to chest pains; (12) Jebian's July 15, 2012 visit to Baptist Hospital due to lower back and kidney pain; (13) Silva's September 15, 2012 visit to Baptist Hospital due to an ear infection; (14) Silva's December 6, 2012 visit to Baptist Hospital due to chest pain; (15) Silva's March 4, 2013 visit to Baptist Hospital due to shoulder pain; (16) Silva's June 11, 2013 visit to Baptist Hospital due to nausea; (17) Silva's February 25, 2014 visit to Baptist Hospital due to nausea; and (18) Jebian's March 11, 2014 visit to Baptist Hospital, to which he was transferred after a visit to a Baptist Health outpatient center due to injuries from playing football. The complaint also mentions two additional visits that are outside the statute of limitations and thus cannot be the basis for Plaintiffs' damages claim, although they are nevertheless "relevant and admissible to show deliberate indifference": (1) Silva's November 11-12, 2009 visit to Baptist Hospital due to shortness of breath; (2) Jebian's March 29, 2010 visit to Baptist Hospital as a companion to his father, who was suffering from a heart ailment. See Silva v. Baptist Health S. Florida, Inc. ,
Fourteen of the 59 visits to which Silva and Jebian cite post-date the operative complaint, are not mentioned in the complaint, have no relevance to Defendants' actions during the timeframe at issue, and are thus properly disregarded here: Silva's February 28, 2015, March 9, 2015, and April 6, 2016 visits to Baptist Hospital; Silva's May 19, 2014, July 6, 2014, July 8, 2014, July 18, 2014, August 1, 2014, August 22, 2014, September 8, 2014, September 27, 2014, and February 28, 2015 visits to SMH; Jebian's August 10, 2014 visit to Baptist Hospital; and Jebian's August 10, 2014 visit to a Baptist Health outpatient facility. The record does contain reference to 25 visits-also absent from the complaint-that Plaintiffs made to Defendants' facilities before they filed this lawsuit: Silva's November 6, 2009, November 8, 2009, March 4, 2010, April 21, 2010, September 25, 2011, July 7, 2012, March 15, 2013, May 31, 2013, June 27, 2013, July 25, 2013, September 30, 2013, October 16, 2013, October 23, 2013, and March 2, 2014 visits to Baptist Hospital; Silva's March 1, 2009, March 6, 2013, April 2, 2014, and April 29, 2014 visits to SMH; Silva's July 7, 2012 visit to a Baptist Health outpatient facility; and Jebian's November 28, 2010, November 29, 2010, December 1, 2010, May 28, 2012, August 7, 2012, and March 11, 2014 visits to a Baptist Health outpatient facility. Because these 25 visits were not in the operative complaint, they cannot be the basis for damages, but are nonetheless "relevant to whether the hospitals had the requisite knowledge to establish deliberate indifference during" the 18 visits that are the basis for Plaintiffs' RA claims. See Silva ,
By Plaintiffs' recollection, on 24 relevant visits to Defendants' facilities, VRI was available but was "never provided or was completely non-operable"; on 12 occasions, VRI was "available, used/functioned for a few minutes, not adequate"; and on 9 occasions VRI was "not available" because Baptist Health's outpatient facilities were not equipped with VRI. (DE 158-1; DE 158-2; DE 158-3).
Plaintiffs focus heavily on purported inadequacies with Defendants' use of VRI, but their objections raise no genuine dispute of material fact as to its deliberate indifference regarding its use. For example, Plaintiffs complain that Defendants often had VRI on hand but failed to provide it; that when Defendants did provide VRI, it was inadequate; and that in some cases Defendants' facilities lacked VRI altogether. (See generally DE 158). They also cite Defendants' acknowledgement that VRI could sometimes be choppy or needed to be moved around to avoid interference from other electronic devices (DE 61 ¶ 65). But the fact that VRI might have occasionally malfunctioned-about which the Eleventh Circuit found a triable issue as to negligence-does not alone establish deliberate indifference. Plaintiffs would also need to offer evidence that Defendants failed to address the risk the VRI malfunctions posed to their federally-protected rights. They have not offered such evidence. And they have offered no evidence to support their accusation that Defendants "purposefully adopted" policies to use VRI where their third-party VRI provider Language Access Network ("LAN") suggested such use was inappropriate. (DE 158 at 9). Indeed, save for Plaintiffs' accusation, there is no evidence that Defendants ever relied solely on VRI in situations where they knew VRI would not render effective communication.
Moreover, there is no evidence in the record that Mr. Jebian, at any time, advised the Defendants that they had violated or failed to comply with the terms of the settlement agreement they had reached over 15 years ago. (DE 59 ¶ 67). When asked about it during his deposition, Mr. Jebian admitted that he never attempted to enforce the terms of the settlement. (DE 59-2 at 52).
As previously noted, the Court declines to consider those visits listed in the charts that postdate the Complaint.
For example, in her chart, Silva states that "VRI was not provided" when she visited the hospital on November 29, 2010. (DE 158-1 at 5). However, when she was asked about that visit during her deposition, she testified that "[t]hat was the day they were able to use the VRI." (DE 59-1 at 95-96). Similarly, Silva states in her chart that VRI did not function when she visited the hospital on January 3, 2011 (DE 158-1 at 24-25) even though at her deposition she had testified that in that visit, she got VRI and the visit was "fairly uneventful" (DE 59-1 at 96-98). Even if the VRI malfunctioned on some occasions, this is not enough to establish deliberate indifference.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Cheylla SILVA and John Paul Jebian v. BAPTIST HEALTH SOUTH FLORIDA, INC.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published