Gerald Buchanan, currently incarcerated at Plainfield Correctional Facility, sued six defendants over medical care he received while previously housed at Pendleton Correctional Facility. Buchanan alleged that prison medical staff ignored an outside specialist's recommendations to prescribe gabapentin for chronic foot conditions and neuropathy, leaving him with ongoing numbness, shooting pains, and chronic back pain. The case centers on allegations that Centurion Health maintains policies against prescribing pain medications for cost reasons, and that individual medical providers refused treatment based on unfounded abuse concerns.
Judge Young found viable claims against nurse practitioner Sinikweyinkosi Mabandla, who allegedly 'refused to prescribe any pain medication for Mr. Buchanan or re-refer him to Dr. Bhinder' despite X-rays showing degenerative disc disease and a radiologist's finding of likely chronic back pain. The court also allowed claims to proceed against Centurion Health under the Monell doctrine for allegedly maintaining unconstitutional policies. As Young wrote, the screening standard requires dismissing claims that 'fail to state a claim for relief,' but Buchanan's allegations against these defendants cleared that threshold.
The court was particularly critical of the medical staff's rationale for denying treatment, noting that multiple providers cited 'potential for abuse' concerns when refusing to prescribe gabapentin despite a specialist's specific recommendation. Judge Young highlighted that Dr. Marshawn 'falsely stated, contrary to Dr. Bhinder's report, that she had not recommended that Mr. Buchanan be re-seen after six weeks' and also 'refused to prescribe gabapentin for Mr. Buchanan, also citing the potential for abuse.'
However, Young dismissed claims against four other defendants on various grounds. The court found that claims against nurse practitioner Nudi and Dr. Marshawn were time-barred under Indiana's two-year statute of limitations, since their only interactions with Buchanan occurred more than two years before he filed suit in December 2025. Young noted that 'although Mr. Buchanan alleges an ongoing and continuous injury, that does not by itself extend the statute of limitations,' citing Seventh Circuit precedent that the continuing violation doctrine requires the statute to run from each independently unlawful act.
The court also rejected Buchanan's claims against warden Trent Allen and Assistant Health Service Administrator Christopher Houchins, who had responded to grievances by noting that Buchanan was receiving medical care. Young found these non-medical officials were entitled to rely on medical staff expertise, explaining that 'if a prisoner is under the care of medical experts, a non-medical prison official will generally be justified in believing that the prisoner is in capable hands.' The court emphasized this was not a case where Buchanan's condition was being completely ignored, even if he was dissatisfied with the treatment level.
The ruling reflects ongoing scrutiny of prison medical care policies, particularly regarding pain management in correctional settings. Young's decision to allow the Monell claim against Centurion suggests courts may be increasingly willing to examine whether private medical contractors maintain cost-cutting policies that compromise constitutional care standards. The case also highlights tensions between legitimate concerns about medication abuse in prisons and inmates' constitutional rights to adequate medical treatment.
Buchanan has until May 8, 2026, to file any motion for reconsideration if he believes the court failed to identify additional viable claims. The remaining defendants—Mabandla and Centurion Health—will now be served and must respond to the constitutional claims, setting up potential discovery into Centurion's policies and Mabandla's specific treatment decisions.