United States District Court, N.D. Indiana, Fort Wayne Division
OPINION AND ORDER
THERESA L. SPRINGMANN CHIEF JUDGE
This
matter is before the Court on the Plaintiff Tyquan
Stewart's Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 141]. The
Defendants, Parkview Hospital, Rachel Peery (named as Racheal
Penny) and Amy Trabel [ECF No. 147], City of Fort Wayne, Mark
Lowden, and Tony Maze [ECF No. 154], and Dr. Tyler Johnson
and Professional Emergency Physicians, Inc. [ECF No. 162]
have also filed Motions for Summary Judgment.
BACKGROUND
The
Plaintiff filed a Complaint on September 6, 2017 [ECF No. 1].
After a series of motions to amend, the Plaintiff's Fifth
Amended Complaint is now the operative complaint in this case
[ECF No. 115]. The Plaintiff brings several causes of action
against multiple defendants. The Plaintiff alleges that
Defendants Lowden and Maze violated his Fourth Amendment
rights when they committed an illegal search and seizure of
his blood without a warrant or probable cause. (Pl.'s
Fifth Am. Compl. at 2.) The Plaintiff alleges that Defendants
Trabel, Penny, and Johnson invaded his privacy pursuant to
HIPAA (identified as HIPPA) and that Trabel committed felony
battery. (Id.) Additionally, regarding Defendant
Johnson, the Plaintiff alleges that Johnson shared his
information under “false pretense” and
“false light” with malicious intent. Finally, the
Plaintiff alleges state law claims for negligence and
negligent infliction of emotional distress against all the
Defendants.
The
Plaintiff contends that the City of Fort Wayne is liable for
the actions of its employees, Maze and Lowden. The Plaintiff
also argues that Parkview Hospital is liable for the actions
of its employees, Trabel, Penny, and Johnson, and that
Professional Emergency Physicians, Inc. is also liable for
the actions of Johnson. (Id. at 4.) The Plaintiff
requests compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to
attorneys' fees, legal costs, and other expenses the
Plaintiff incurred during this litigation. (Id.)
STATEMENT
OF FACTS
On June
4, 2016, Defendant Maze responded to a call about a motor
vehicle accident. Upon arrival at the scene of the accident,
medics informed Maze that the Plaintiff and his passenger
were in very serious condition. The Plaintiff had suffered
internal injuries and the Plaintiff's passenger had a
serious gash to the thigh. Maze spoke with the Plaintiff and
the passenger while they waited to receive medical assistance
and, in doing so, noticed a strong smell of alcohol emanating
from the Plaintiff's vehicle. Maze was unable to perform
field sobriety tests due to the nature of the accident.
An
ambulance transported the Plaintiff to the Parkview Hospital
Emergency Room. Due to the seriousness of the accident and
Maze's observations, Maze determined that both drivers
should be subjected to blood alcohol test (BAT). Maze
requested that Defendant Lowden assist with the investigation
and go to Parkview Hospital. Lowden asked medical staff for
an updated condition on Plaintiff and his passenger. Maze
then asked Lowden to request that the Plaintiff's
treating physicians perform a blood draw as part of their
treatment of the Plaintiff. However, neither Maze nor Lowden
ordered the treating physicians to conduct a blood draw or
perform any specific testing.
As part
of his medical care for the Plaintiff, Defendant Dr. Tyler
Johnson, without orders from law enforcement, ordered a
trauma assessment that included blood testing. Ethanol
testing, as part of the blood testing, is an essential part
of administering care to a trauma patient. The Plaintiff was
unconscious when Defendant Amy Trabel, a phlebotomist,
performed a blood draw. Maze and Lowden subsequently
requested the results of the Plaintiff's medical blood
draw pursuant to Ind. Code § 9-30-6-6, [1] which Defendant
Rachel Perry then delivered to them. The blood draw showed
that the Plaintiff had a BAT above .15. Consequently, the
Plaintiff was charged with Operating While Intoxicated.
Neither Defendant Johnson nor Trabel communicated the BAT
results to law enforcement.
On
October 15, 2018, the Plaintiff filed a Motion for Summary
Judgment [ECF No. 141] and on November 6, 2018 Defendants
Professional Emergency Physicians, Inc., and Johnson filed a
response [ECF No. 144]. Defendants Parkview Hospital, Perry,
and Trabel filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on November 6,
2018 [ECF No. 147] and a response [ECF No. 157] to the
Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on November 9,
2018. Defendants City of Fort Wayne, Lowden, and Maze filed a
response [ECF No. 153] to the Plaintiff's Motion for
Summary Judgment and a Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No.
154] on November 9, 2018. The Plaintiff filed a response [ECF
No. 158] to the Defendants', City of Fort Wayne, Lowden,
and Maze, Motion for Summary Judgment on November 15, 2018,
and the Defendants filed a reply [ECF No. 160] on November
29, 2018. Defendants Professional Emergency Physicians, Inc.,
and Johnson filed a Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 162]
on December 17, 2018 and the Plaintiff filed a response [ECF
No. 164] on December 19, 2018. The Plaintiff filed a reply
[ECF No. 161] supporting his summary judgment motion on
November 30, 2018.
LEGAL
STANDARD
Summary
judgment is proper where the evidence of record shows that
there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the
moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23
(1986). The moving party bears the initial burden of
informing the court of the basis for its motion and
identifying those portions of the record it believes
demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.
Id. at 323. The burden then shifts to the non-movant
to “go beyond the pleadings” to cite evidence of
a genuine factual dispute precluding summary judgment.
Id. at 324. “[A] court has one task and one
task only: to decide, based on the evidence of record,
whether there is any material dispute of fact that requires a
trial.” Waldridge v. Am. Hoechst Corp., 24
F.3d 918, 920 (7th Cir. 1994). If the non-movant does not
come forward with evidence that would reasonably permit the
finder of fact to find in its favor on a material issue, then
the Court must enter summary judgment against it.
Id. Bare assertions are insufficient to create a
dispute of fact for summary judgment. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).
ANALYSIS
The
Plaintiff brings various claims against all the Defendants.
The Court will address the allegations against Defendants
City of Fort Wayne, Lowden, and Maze, Defendants Parkview
Hospital, Peery, and Trabel, and Defendants Emergency Room
Physicians and Johnson separately.
A.
Defendants City of Fort ...