Federal Circuits, 9th Cir. (May 25, 1993)
Docket number: 92-15878
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Before HUG, WIGGINS and THOMPSON, Circuit Judges.
MEMORANDUM**Kenneth Lee Krause, a Nevada state prisoner, appeals pro se the district court's judgment in favor of Nevada State Penitentiary medical personnel in his 42 U.S.C. 1983 action challenging the medical treatment he received following surgery to remove an aneurysm. He also appeals the denial of his motions to disqualify the district judge and to vacate the judgment. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1291, and we affirm.BACKGROUNDKrause, an inmate at the Nevada State Penitentiary, was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. The Nevada State Department of Prisons transported him to the University of San Francisco Medical Center, where he underwent successful surgery for the removal of the aneurysm. His neurosurgeon prescribed a high dosage of dilantin, a drug used to prevent seizures.Following the surgery, Krause was transferred back to the Nevada State Penitentiary and was placed in the infirmary. Nurse Donna Caldwell contacted Physician's Assistant Rumaldo Rodriquez for permission to administer the dilantin. Rodriguez gave Caldwell permission to administer the dilantin in accordance with the neurosurgeon's prescription. Krause exhibited signs of toxicity to dilantin. He was treated by the infirmary staff and the dosage was reduced.STANDARD OF REVIEWWe review de novo the district court's dismissal for failure to state a claim, Noll v. Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1447 (9th Cir.1987), and grant of summary judgment, Jones v. Pacific Union R.R., 968 F.2d 937, 940 (9th Cir.1992). We review for an abuse of discretion the denial of Krause's motions to disqualify the district judge, Evenstad v. United States, 978 F.2d 1154, 1158 (9th Cir.1992), and to vacate the judgment, Gould v. Mutual Life Insurance Co., 790 F.2d 769, 771 (9th Cir.1986).DISCUSSIONI. Eighth Amendment ClaimsA. CaldwellKrause contends that Caldwell acted with deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs by administering an excessive dosage of dilantin, failing to supply him with nasal spray and having other inmates help him bathe and change his bedding."Prisoners can establish an eighth amendment violation with respect to medical care if they can prove there has been deliberate indifference to their serious medical needs." Hunt v. Dental Dep't, 865 F.2d 198, 200 (9th Cir.1989). The indifference to medical needs must be substantial; inadequate treatment due to negligence or inadvertence is insufficient to state a claim. Estelle v. Gamble,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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