Conquistador v. Cook

          INITIAL REVIEW ORDER

          KARI A. DOOLEY, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

         Preliminary Statement

         Plaintiff, Jean Karlo Conquistador (“Conquistador”), currently confined at Bridgeport Correctional Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, brings this action pro se pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He describes his claims as deliberate indifference, retaliation, negligence, and inadequate medical treatment in violation of his rights under the First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Conquistador names eight defendants: Commissioner Rollin Cook; an unnamed medical doctor at Garner Correctional Institution (“Garner”), Nurses April, Angel, and Susan Gomes at Garner; Deputy Warden Egan at Garner; and Nurses Doe 1 and Doe 2 at Bridgeport Correctional Center (“Bridgeport”). Conquistador seeks damages as well as declaratory and injunctive relief against the defendants in their individual and official capacities. The complaint was received on September 19, 2019, and Conquistador's motion to proceed in forma pauperis was granted on October 3, 2019.

         On October 1, 2019, Conquistador filed a motion to amend his complaint purportedly to include omitted facts and claims. However, the Proposed Amended Complaint does not name any of the defendants or claims included in this case. Rather it is a complaint dated June 25, 2019, bearing the case caption Conquistador v. Lacerda, No. 3:18-cv-685(KAD). It appears Conquistador filed the Proposed Amended Complaint in the wrong action.^[1] To the extent he was seeking to bring the claims from the Lacerda case in this matter, his motion is DENIED. The Court considers only the original Complaint in this Order.

         Standard of Review

         Under section 1915A of title 28 of the United States Code, the Court must review prisoner civil complaints and dismiss any portion of the complaint that is frivolous or malicious, that fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. Id. In reviewing a pro se complaint, the Court must assume the truth of the allegations, and interpret them liberally to “raise the strongest arguments [they] suggest[].” Abbas v. Dixon, 480 F.3d 636, 639 (2d Cir. 2007). see also Tracy v. Freshwater, 623 F.3d 90, 101-02 (2d Cir. 2010) (discussing special rules of solicitude for pro se litigants). Although detailed allegations are not required, the complaint must include sufficient facts to afford the defendants fair notice of the claims and the grounds upon which they are based and to demonstrate a right to relief. Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-56 (2007). Conclusory allegations are not sufficient. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). The plaintiff must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570.

         Allegations

         Conquistador was transferred to Garner on February 13, 2019. Doc. No. 1, ¶ 1. While there, he submitted numerous requests complaining of hemorrhoids. Id. ¶ 2. He was not prescribed suppositories until July 2019. Id. ¶ 3. He submitted multiple medical grievances but received no responses. Id. ¶ 4.

         Nurses Susan Gomes, April, and Angel refused to see Conquistador at sick call for his hemorrhoids until July 2019. Id. ¶ 5. He threatened to file lawsuits if he did not receive adequate medical treatment. Id. ¶ 6. He told the defendants on numerous occasions that the suppositories were not working and that he needed to go to the hospital. Id. ¶ 7. He has not yet been taken to a hospital for a thorough examination. Id. ¶ 8. Nor has he yet been thoroughly examined by correctional medical staff. Id. ¶ 9.

         On multiple occasions, Conquistador complained about an over-inflated external hemorrhoid that causes pain when he sits or lies on his back. Sleeping on his side provides the only relief from the pain. Id. ¶ 10.

         Conquistador asked Officers Graham and Smith to call the medical unit at Bridgeport because he was experiencing pain. Nurses Doe 1 and Doe 2 told the officers that Conquistador should submit a request. Id. ¶ 11. As of September 18, 2019, Conquistador's external hemorrhoid increases a little in size every 3-4 days. Id. ¶ 12.

         Discussion

         Conquistador includes as defendants, Commissioner Cook, Deputy Warden Egan, an unnamed doctor and three nurses at Garner and two nurses at Bridgeport. The Department of Correction website indicates that Conquistador is currently incarcerated at Bridgeport and has been so held as a pretrial detainee since August 30, 2019. www.ctinmateinfo.state.ct.us/detailsupv.asp?idinmtnum=341088 (last visited Oct. 7, 2019). Conquistador was a sentenced prisoner while at Garner and is currently a pretrial detainee at Bridgeport.

         Deliberate Indifference to ...