Wilson v. Sean Flack

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ANTHONY WILSON, KIMBERLY WILSON, the parents of Martez Wilson, ESTATE OF MARTEZ WILSON, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. EMT SEAN FLACK, in his individual capacity, BRIAN PORTERFIELD, Paramedic; in his individual capacity, Defendants-Appellees, CITY OF DOUGLASVILLE, GA., OFFICER COYLEE DANLEY, OFFICER ANDREW SMITH, Defendants.

No. 19-14294

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

September 27, 2022

DO NOT PUBLISH

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia D.C. Docket No. 1:17-cv-00634-WMR

Before JORDAN, BRASHER, and CARNES, Circuit Judges.

JULIE CARNES, CIRCUIT JUDGE

Following Martez Wilson's attempted flight from law enforcement officers and Wilson's arrest by those officers, the defendants in this case-Sean Flack (an EMT) and Brian Porterfield (a paramedic)-were summoned to the site of the arrest based on Wilson's complaints that he could not breathe. Defendants having determined that Wilson did not require hospitalization, the officers transported Wilson to jail. Upon arrival, they discovered that Wilson was dead, and ultimately it was determined that his death was caused by a rare condition associated with undiagnosed sickle cell trait.

The plaintiffs in this case include Anthony and Kimberly Wilson who are Wilson's parents and sole survivors and who allege that, by deliberately disregarding a known and serious medical risk to Wilson, Defendants caused their son's demise. Seeking damages arising from his death, they assert a § 1983 deliberate indifference claim and a state negligence claim against Defendants. Also a plaintiff in this case is Wilson's estate, which asserts the same § 1983 deliberate indifference claim and state negligence claim against Defendants, but which seeks damages for Wilson's predeath suffering allegedly caused by Defendants' actions.

The district court excluded the testimony of Plaintiffs' medical causation expert pursuant to Federal Evidence Rule 702 and subsequently granted summary judgment to Defendants on all Plaintiffs' claims. Plaintiffs appeal the district court's exclusion of their expert and its summary judgment ruling.

Having carefully reviewed the record and the briefs, and after oral argument, we affirm in part and reverse in part. Specifically, we affirm the district court's exclusion of Plaintiffs' medical expert pursuant to Rule 702 and the court's grant of summary judgment as to the Wilsons' wrongful death claims-that is, the § 1983 and state negligence claims asserting that Defendants caused their son's death. We reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment as to the Estate's § 1983 and state law claims seeking damages for Wilson's pre-death pain and suffering allegedly caused by Defendants' conduct. As to this pain and suffering claim, we remand the case back to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

On March 3, 2015, Douglasville police officers Coylee Danley and Andrew Smith responded to a 911 call reporting a burglary in process at Freewheeling Motor Sports, a recreational vehicle dealership in Douglasville, Georgia. The officers were advised by dispatch that two male suspects had cut the fence at the dealership and were fleeing on foot into a nearby residential neighborhood. When they arrived at the scene, the officers canvassed the area and found an individual later identified as Martez Wilson lying face down in a driveway. Officer Danley approached Wilson in the driveway and directed him to put his hands behind his back, whereupon Wilson complied and was handcuffed. A second male suspect, Carlos Burroughs, subsequently appeared on the scene and was apprehended and handcuffed without incident.

Wilson was limp when the officers found him in the driveway, and he complained that he was having trouble breathing. Officer Smith propped Wilson up against his knee so that he was sitting upright, and he testified that he felt Wilson make a coughing sound as he attempted to breathe. Smith radioed dispatch, reported that Wilson was complaining that he could not breathe, and requested EMS assistance at the scene.

While awaiting EMS, the officers put Wilson and Burroughs in the back of separate patrol cars. Wilson had to be carried to the patrol car because he was unable to stand. There is evidence that Wilson became increasingly less responsive during his interaction with the officers.

EMS Defendants Sean Flack (an EMT) and Brian Porterfield (a paramedic) arrived on the scene about nine minutes after Wilson was put in the back of the patrol car. Defendants were advised when they arrived that Wilson was apprehended after running from a crime scene and that he had said he was unable to breathe. The officers also allegedly told Defendants that Wilson "no longer wanted to talk to anybody" and they suggested he was faking illness. The officers did not tell Defendants they had found Wilson lying face down in a driveway, that he could not stand and had to be carried to the patrol car, and that he had become less responsive over time.

After speaking to the officers, Defendants approached the patrol car to evaluate Wilson. Wilson was sitting upright in the back of the car when Defendants first saw him, although Plaintiffs suggest that Wilson was already unconscious and being held upright by his seatbelt. Porterfield stated in a written report summarizing his assessment of Wilson that Wilson's eyes were open when he first saw him, but there is other evidence indicating that Wilson's eyes were closed the entire time Defendants were on the scene.

The parties agree that Wilson was not responsive to any questions Defendants asked him, including Porterfield's question about whether Wilson wanted to go to the hospital. The parties dispute whether Wilson was unable to respond or just unwilling to respond. Porterfield apparently thought it was the latter because he testified that he had difficulty obtaining Wilson's "consent" for further assessment or treatment. Nevertheless, Porterfield admitted in his deposition that he could not determine for certain whether Wilson was conscious and aware of his surroundings during his evaluation.

Despite Wilson's non-responsiveness, Defendants completed at least a cursory assessment of his condition. Porterfield stated that he felt Wilson's face and determined that his skin was "warm and dry" and that he visually assessed Wilson's breathing by watching his chest movements. Porterfield then used a ZOLL monitor to determine Wilson's pulse and oxygen levels. Although Defendants testified that Wilson's pulse was in the 50s or 60s and that his oxygen level was 98 or 99%-both of which would have been considered normal-Officer Smith reported to the EMTs who treated Wilson at the jail later that evening that Wilson's pulse had been 110 and his blood oxygen level 92%. Accordingly, there is a disputed issue of fact concerning Wilson's pulse rate and oxygen level.

Near the end of Wilson's medical assessment, Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Cadwell, who had arrived on the scene for backup, noticed that Wilson was foaming at the mouth. Cadwell reported that fact to Defendants, stating "he's foaming at the mouth now, just so you know." Cadwell's comment was captured on a dashcam video recording of the incident.

According to Defendants, because they were satisfied with Wilson's overall appearance, the ZOLL monitor readings, and a lack of observable respiratory issues, they believed his breathing complaints simply stemmed from overexertion after running from the police. They decided Wilson did not need further treatment, but offered to transport Wilson to the hospital if the officers thought that best. One officer commented "If he doesn't want to talk to you, he doesn't want to go to the hospital." Defendants then terminated the assessment, after spending about seven minutes at the scene and four minutes actively evaluating Wilson. Porterfield admitted that he and Flack left the scene knowing they had not done a full assessment of Wilson, and still unsure about what had caused his breathing complaint.

After Defendants left the scene, the officers radioed dispatch and stated that, although Wilson had been evaluated by EMS, he would not wake up and likely could not be booked into jail in his current state. Nevertheless, the officers transported Wilson and Burroughs to the jail, arriving at the jail about fourteen minutes after Defendants left the scene of Wilson's arrest. When they arrived at the jail, the officers first walked Burroughs inside while Wilson remained in the back seat of Officer Smith's patrol car.

When the officers returned to retrieve Wilson, he was not moving and his body was limp. The officers carried Wilson to a cell. Once they reached the cell, the officers realized that Wilson was no longer breathing and had no pulse. They summoned EMS again and a different paramedic crew arrived, but the responding paramedic was unable to resuscitate Wilson and he was pronounced dead at that time.

Wilson's cause of death was later determined by autopsy to be what is known as an ECAST (exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait) event, a rare medical condition that is poorly understood but that is somewhat like exertional heat illness. As described by Plaintiffs, an ECAST is triggered by extreme exertion in an individual with sickle cell trait-which generally is asymptomatic and undiagnosed until after death-causing systemic acidosis and dehydration that ultimately result in blood cell sickling, clotting and clumping of blood cells, and oxygen deprivation leading to death. Supported by their medical expert, Defendants note that there are no established ways to diagnose or treat an ECAST event while it is occurring and that reported ...