Jimmie Dunlap v. Ashley Underwood

United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Submitted May 5, 2026*
Decided May 7, 2026
Before
FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge
AMY J. ST. EVE, Circuit Judge
DORIS L. PRYOR, Circuit Judge
No. 24-2875
JIMMIE DUNLAP,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
ASHLEY UNDERWOOD, et al.,
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Central District of Illinois.
No. 2:21-cv-2153-JEH
Jonathan E. Hawley,
Judge.
O R D E R
Jimmie Dunlap, an Illinois prisoner, sued a nurse for failing to administer two
doses of his antidepressant and blood-thinning medications, a lapse Dunlap argued
constituted deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. The district court
entered summary judgment against him, concluding that the record did not permit an
* We have agreed to decide the case without oral argument because the briefs and
record adequately present the facts and legal arguments, and oral argument would not
significantly aid the court. F ED. R. A PP . P. 34(a)(2)(C).
NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with F ED. R. APP . P. 32.1

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No. 24-2875 Page 2
inference that the nurse was aware of a risk of harm if he missed a dose of either
medication. We affirm.
While imprisoned at the Danville Correctional Center, Dunlap was prescribed
various medications, including Warfarin, an anticoagulant, and Remeron, an
antidepressant. Dunlap maintains that on two occasions in December 2020, he was not
provided his scheduled doses. He blames Ashley Underwood, a traveling registered
nurse who provided temporary nursing assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dunlap asserts that he asked Underwood to retrieve those doses but she did not do so.
And because he missed those doses, he contends that he experienced chest pain and
could not sleep for two days.
Dunlap sued Underwood, asserting that the denial of his medication constituted
deliberate indifference to his medical conditions in violation of his rights under the
Eighth Amendment. See 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He also raised separate claims of deliberate
indifference against other prison healthcare officials. The district court granted the
officials’ motion for summary judgment because Dunlap did not present evidence that
they failed to exercise their medical judgment. Underwood later appeared and moved
separately for summary judgment. The court granted her motion, finding no evidence
that Underwood knew that missing a dose of either medication would cause him to
experience serious pain or lasting harm.
On appeal, Dunlap highlights the importance of the two medications for treating
cardiac and psychiatric conditions, and he asserts that Underwood’s failure to respond
to his request for his prescriptions reflects deliberate indifference to his serious medical
needs. But a prison official acts with deliberate indifference only when she “knows of
and disregards an excessive risk to inmate health or safety.” See Farmer v. Brennan,
511 U.S. 825, 837 (1994); see also Zentmyer v. Kendall County, 220 F.3d 805, 811–12 (7th Cir.
2000) (no deliberate indifference where guards, who “administered 97 of 130 doses of
prescription medication on schedule as prescribed,” were not shown to have any
knowledge that serious medical consequences might result from occasionally missing
some prescribed doses). And here, no evidence in the record suggests that Underwood
knew that Dunlap could suffer serious harm if he missed one or two doses of the
medication.
AFFIRMED

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