Opinion
2:19-cv-2048 KJN P
09-20-2021
BALJIT SINGH, Plaintiff, v. NICOLAS AGUILERA, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
KENDALL J. NEWMAN, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding without counsel, with a civil right action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. For the reasons stated herein, defendants Ullery and Vaughn are ordered to respond to plaintiff's motion for injunctive relief filed September 17, 2021. (ECF No. 63.)
Allegations in Amended Complaint
This action proceeds on plaintiff's amended complaint filed June 14, 2021, against defendants Aguilera, Ullery and Vaughn. (ECF No. 51.) Plaintiff alleges that defendant Aguilera is a medical doctor employed at the California Medical Facility (“CMF”). (Id. at 2.) Plaintiff alleges that defendant Ullery is a medical doctor employed at Mule Creek State Prison (“MCSP”). (Id.) Plaintiff alleges that defendant Vaughn is the Chief Physician and Surgeon at MCSP. (Id.) Plaintiff is incarcerated at MCSP.
Plaintiff alleges that defendant Aguilera's failure to treat his left ear infection caused plaintiff to suffer hearing loss in his left ear. Plaintiff also alleges that defendant Aguilera failed to treat plaintiff's left ear pain and headaches in July 2018. (Id. at 3-4.)
Plaintiff alleges that after he arrived at MCSP in March 2019, defendant Ullery failed to send plaintiff to an ENT specialist appointment at Highland Medical Center in Oakland for surgery on his left ear. (Id. at 5.) Plaintiff alleges that this surgery was already approved by CMF. (Id.)
Plaintiff alleges that defendant Ullery failed to follow the recommendations for a previous ENT specialist, Dr. Murton at Twin Cities Community Hospital, for plaintiff to have surgery within a certain time frame. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges that as a result of the delay in his surgery, on April 7, 2021, an ENT specialist at the Highland Medical Center informed plaintiff that the surgery could not be performed due to the delay. (Id.) The ENT specialist told plaintiff that because his ear had progressed to 100% perforation, the ENT specialist had to refer plaintiff to UCSF for surgery. (Id.)
Attached to the amended complaint is a medical record from Alameda Health System dated April 7, 2021. (Id. at 7.) This record states, in relevant part,
On evaluation today, near complete perforation will not be able to be fixed here at Highland, especially if OCR is needed at the same time. Therefore, will have facility refer patient to UCSF Otology for further surgical evaluation.(Id.)
In the amended complaint, plaintiff requests that he receive left ear surgery at UCSF. (Id. at 6.)
Motion for Injunctive Relief
In the pending motion, plaintiff requests that defendants be ordered to send plaintiff to UCSF for the surgical evaluation/surgery discussed in the April 7, 2021 medical record from Alameda Health System. (ECF No. 63 at 2.) Good cause appearing, defendants Ullery and Vaughn are ordered to file a response to plaintiff's motion for injunctive relief within fourteen days from the date of this order.
Defendant Aguilera is not ordered to respond to the pending motion because he is not employed at MCSP, where plaintiff is located.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that within fourteen days from the date of this order, defendants Ullery and Vaughn shall file a response to plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction filed September 17, 2021.