Pfeiffer

I. BACKGROUND

5 Plaintiff, proceeding through counsel, filed the initial complaint commencing this action 6 on April 5, 2021, alleging multiple employees at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) deprived him 7 of adequate medical care for a known serious medical need in violation of the Eighth 8 Amendment. (ECF No. 1 at 9). 9 The complaint alleged that in May 2019, while incarcerated at KVSP, Plaintiff suffered a 10 neck injury. (Id. at 3). Plaintiff began having progressive pain and disability and was seen by 11 nursing staff who did not possess the training, experience, or knowledge to properly evaluate 12 Plaintiff’s injury, diagnose his condition, or recommend diagnostic testing. (Id.). Medical staff 13 refused to refer Plaintiff to a doctor and acted as “gatekeepers” to minimize the involvement of 14 doctors to keep healthcare costs down. (Id. at 3, 7, 10). Plaintiff finally saw a doctor on July 9, 15 2019, because he collapsed, could not ambulate, and suffered sensory changes. (Id. at 3-4). The doctor determined Plaintiff had a sensory deficit below his chest at the thoracic T8/9 level, and Plaintiff was transferred to an outside facility to rule out an epidural…