Darby, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Greenman, Defendant-Appellee* Plaintiff Devin Darby suffered from a gum condition that he alleges was not adequately addressed while he was incarcerated at two Rikers Island correctional facilities. Darby filed a pro se complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York asserting claims against two dentists, two unidentified Department of Corrections officials, and several municipal defendants for medical malpractice under state law and violations of his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C. §1983. The district court (Cogan, J.) dismissed the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. On appeal, Darby challenges the dismissal of his constitutional claims. We conclude that Darby failed to plead that Defendants acted with deliberate indifference to serious medical needs and thus affirm. Judge Carney dissents in a separate opinion. MICHAEL PARK, C.J. Plaintiff Devin Darby suffered from a gum condition that he alleges was not adequately addressed while he was incarcerated at two Rikers Island correctional facilities. Darby filed a pro se complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York asserting claims against two dentists (“Dentist Defendants”), two unidentified Department of Corrections officials (“Doe Defendants”), and several municipal defendants for medical malpractice under state law and violations of his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C. §1983. The district court (Cogan, J.) dismissed the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. On appeal, Darby challenges the dismissal of his constitutional claims. We conclude that Darby failed to plead that Defendants acted with deliberate indifference to serious medical needs and thus affirm. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background1 In February 2017, Darby was housed at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center (“OBCC”) on Rikers Island when he began to experience inflammation and pain in his right cheek area. During a health screening, dental clinicians found a three-by-three-centimeter bulge in Darby’s gums. Darby sought medical attention by submitting a written sick call request to a correctional officer responsible for placing it in a medical intake mailbox. He was seen at the Rikers Island health clinic the next day and received ibuprofen for his pain. Darby submitted another sick call request a few days later. The next day, he was examined by a Rikers Island dentist who detected an abscess and scheduled him for an appointment with Dentist Defendant David Greenman. Greenman saw Darby six days later, on February 17, 2017. During the appointment, Greenman suggested a dental extraction, which Darby insisted was unnecessary. Greenman identified a parotid gland issue and advised that Darby “would need to see a specialist for his gum pain, outside of Rikers Island.” Compl. 19. A week later, Darby began inquiring about when he would be treated. Greenman called Darby back to the clinic, but Darby refused the visit, which he viewed as “another attempt at extracting his tooth.” Id. 20. By late February, Darby “suffered from pain, inflammation, swelling, inability to chew, sleeplessness, and impaired speech.” Id. 23. He submitted approximately fifteen sick call requests between late February and late April “to follow up on his worsening condition.” Id. Darby “received no medical attention, care or other response to his numerous sick call requests.” Id. 26. Between mid-March and late April, he also submitted to a “grievance box” three or four written grievances that “described in detail the worsening pain and suffering he was experiencing, and requested immediate medical attention.” Id.
27-28. Darby claims that his sick call requests and grievances were “repeatedly ignored.” Id.
