Norris Virgil Lee v. BALLESTEROS, Licensed Vocational Nurse at Corcoran State Hospital

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
NORRIS VIRGIL LEE,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
BALLESTEROS, Licensed Vocational
Nurse at Corcoran State Hospital,
Defendant - Appellee.
No. 12-17543
D.C. No. 1:12-cv-00808-SKO
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
Sheila K. Oberto, Magistrate Judge, Presiding**
Submitted November 19, 2013***
Before: CANBY, TROTT, and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.
California state prisoner Norris Virgil Lee appeals pro se from the district
court’s judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging deliberate
FILED
DEC 10 2013
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
Plaintiff consented to proceed before a magistrate judge. See 28
U.S.C. § 636(c).
*** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

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indifference to his medical needs. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C § 1291.
We review de novo a dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Resnick v. Hayes, 213
F.3d 443, 447 (9th Cir. 2000). We reverse and remand.
The district court erred in dismissing Lee’s action because Lee alleged that,
despite his repeated pleas, defendant consciously and deliberately disregarded a
serious risk to his health arising from diabetes by refusing to administer his
prescribed and regularly scheduled insulin injection. See Farmer v. Brennan, 511
U.S. 825, 837, 845 (1994) (prison officials act with deliberate indifference when
they know of and disregard an excessive risk to inmate health; prisoner need not
await a tragic event before obtaining relief for being exposed to danger).
REVERSED and REMANDED.
12-17543 2

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