Full title: VINCE GILMER, Plaintiff, v. DR. ASHAN, et al., Defendants
Court: United States District Court, W.D. Virginia, Roanoke Division
Date published: Jun 11, 2009
Facts
Gilmer alleges the following facts relevant to the defendants. Gilmer experiences “SSRI withdrawal syndrome” (“SSRIWS”), and “95% of psychiatrists don’t know about” it. (TRO Mot. 1.) SSRIWS feels like an electric cattle prod hitting the brain. (Id. 6.) SSRIWS makes Gilmer confused, unreasonable, angry, and violent. (Id. 7.) Gilmer also has severe reactive hypoglycemia, and his blood sugars drop every three hours. (Id. 11.) The hypoglycemia makes him sweaty and confused. (Id.) Gilmer alleges that he is fed only 800 to 1000 calories a day, far short of the 2500 calories he needs for his brain to work. (Id.)
Gilmer visited defendant Dr. Ashan when he arrived at the Wallens Ridge State Prison (“WARSP”). (TRO Mot. 2.) Gilmer told Ashan that he cannot miss a single dose of his medicine to keep SSRIWS from occurring or Ashan must immediately restart the medications when Gilmer becomes psychotic. (Id. 4.) Ashan agreed to write a special order to the prison nurses, instructing them to make sure Gilmer gets his medicine because he experiences SSRIWS if he misses a dose. (Id. 3.) Gilmer gave Ashan an article from the American Society of Consulting Pharmacists about SSRIWS, but Ashan concluded that the article did not establish a connection between SSRIWS and violent, homicidal thoughts. (Id. 4-5.) Ashan did not know about SSRIWS, was “too busy to look it up[,]” and did not write the order to the nurses. (Id.)
On August 25, 2007, a nurse refused to bring Gilmer his medicine, he experienced SSRIWS, and he nearly killed his cellmate. (Id. 3.) The nurses refused to bring him his medicine two or three times per month, and they lied by telling superiors that Gilmer received his medicine. (TRO Mot. 6, 8, 9.) The nurses ran out of his medicine on August 26, 2008, and they said that the medicine would not be available for two weeks. (Id. 6.)
Gilmer filed letters in October 2008 that alleged the following facts relevant to a defendant. (Additional Evidence (docket #3-4).) A nurse said Gilmer’s Prilosec medication was out of stock, but Gilmer’s mother called defendant Watson, warden of the WARSP, and “it turns out [that] [they] w[ere] not out of Prilosec.” (Additional Evidence (docket #3) 3.)
Issue
Decision
For the foregoing reasons, I deny Gilmer’s motion for a temporary restraining order and I dismiss the action for failing to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).
Federal law provides that a prisoner may not bring a civil action without complete prepayment of the appropriate filing fee if the prisoner has brought, on three or more occasions, an action or appeal in a federal court that was dismissed as frivolous, as malicious, or for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted unless the prisoner is in imminent danger of serious physical injury. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The plaintiff is advised that this dismissal constitutes his third “strike” under § 1915(g). Therefore, Gilmer’s future civil complaints must be accompanied by complete payment of the applicable filing fee or otherwise comply with § 1915(g).
The Clerk is directed to send copies of this memorandum opinion and the accompanying order to the plaintiff.