Zaya v. Sood, No. 15-1470 (7th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseZaya, an inmate at the Henry Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, Illinois, broke his wrist. The prison physician, Dr. Sood, sent Zaya to an off-site orthopedic surgeon who took x-rays, fitted Zaya with a cast, and sent him back to the prison with instructions that he return in three weeks. Sood did not follow those instructions, but waited nearly seven weeks to send Zaya back to the orthopedic surgeon. By then, Zaya’s wrist had healed at an improper angle, and two surgeries were required to repair the defect. Zaya filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 claiming that Sood was deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The district court granted Sood summary judgment, holding that the decision to delay Zaya’s return to the orthopedic surgeon constituted a mere difference of opinion between medical professionals. The Seventh Circuit reversed. A difference of opinion between two doctors is insufficient to survive summary judgment on a deliberate-indifference claim, but when a plaintiff provides evidence from which a reasonable jury could infer that the defendant doctor disregarded rather than disagreed with the course of treatment recommended by another doctor, summary judgment is unwarranted. Zaya provided such evidence.
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