SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Denying summary judgment motions by Sutter Health and one of its hospitals, a federal judge on Thursday advanced the claims of a man who pulled out his own eye during a psychotic episode while in police custody.
The case in the Eastern District of California stems from a series of events that began in November 2019. At that time, Alejandro Arceo was experiencing paranoia and speaking nonsensically, though he had no history of mental illness. A train trip from San Jose to Roseville ended when he left the train in the North Bay city of Richmond, approached police and asked for help. His mother met him and a Kaiser Sacramento doctor soon after prescribed medication to treat schizophrenia and psychosis. He was later put on a waitlist for a mental health partial hospitalization program at Kaiser, according to the ruling by U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd.
Arceo took the medication but he continued acting strangely. On Nov. 27, 2019, his mother asked 911 to help take him to the emergency room. Roseville police officers arrived and at some point, when Arceo grew concerned about being separated from his mother, he ran to close the front door and was taken to the ground by police.
Police heard that Arceo was acting erratically, took medication and had made suicidal statements. They then put him in a police vehicle and took him to Sutter Roseville Medical Center — not Kaiser — for medical clearance, Drozd wrote.
At Sutter, Dr. Ashley Joel Pilgrim examined a chart review for Arceo and conducted a physical examination of him while he sat, restrained, in the back of the police car. However, no medical records for him were found. Police told Pilgrim they had no more information about Arceo’s behavior or the need for a welfare check. Pilgrim then cleared Arceo for transport to jail, Drozd wrote.
Arceo was taken to the Placer County Jail, where he received no medication. On Nov. 30, 2019, he took out his right eye with his hands.
Arceo sued Sutter Health, Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Pilgrim and others in 2020, with professional negligence among his 14 claims. Sutter Health and Sutter Roseville moved for summary judgment,
An expert for Sutter Health and Sutter Roseville Medical Center opined Alejandro Arceo received the proper standard of care, which didn’t cause or contribute to his November 2019 injury. Additionally, the expert said it was appropriate for a doctor to clear Arceo for transfer to police custody because he had no injuries or medical condition requiring attention.
However, Arceo's expert said the care didn’t meet general standards because Pilgrim failed to properly evaluate Arceo and didn’t get his medical history, among other issues.
Drozd found too many questions needed answers to decide the case on summary judgment.
“There are genuine disputes of material fact that must be resolved by the finder of fact as to whether Dr. Pilgrim deviated from the standard of care in medically evaluating plaintiff and whether that breach caused plaintiff’s injury,” Drozd wrote. “Accordingly, plaintiff’s professional negligence claim brought against defendants Sutter Health and SRMC survives summary judgment and the pending motion will be denied.”
The judge also noted Arceo said nothing when asked about having thoughts about hurting himself and never got his medical history. The doctor’s only source of Arceo’s history came from police.
“Pilgrim did not consult with plaintiff’s parents for any additional history,” Drozd wrote. “Furthermore, Dr. Pilgrim did not ask plaintiff if he was suicidal.”
The doctor made no referrals for a mental health evaluation, despite medical notes mentioning suspected drug abuse, mental illness and psychiatric disorder.
Arceo seeks general and noneconomic damages, special and economic damages, and punitive damages against some of the defendants.
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