United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 23-1125 ERIC OLLISON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GREGORY GOSSETT, et al., Defendants-Appellees. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. No. 1:17-cv-01077 — James E. Shadid, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED NOVEMBER 8, 2024 — DECIDED MAY 7, 2025 ____________________

Before RIPPLE, HAMILTON, and KIRSCH, Circuit Judges. RIPPLE, Circuit Judge. Eric Ollison, a former inmate at the Illinois River Correctional Center (“IRCC”), brought this ac- tion under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against several prison officials, in- cluding Wardens Walter Nicholson and Gregory Gossett.1 He alleged that the IRCC’s failure to treat his chronic kidney 1 As this case comes to us on appeal, only Nicholson and Gossett remain defendants. 2 No. 23-1125 disease, which progressed to acute renal failure, constituted deliberate indifference in violation of the Eighth and Four- teenth Amendments. 2 The district court granted Warden Ni- cholson’s motion to dismiss and Warden Gossett’s motion for summary judgment. 3 Mr. Ollison now appeals, contending that the district court erred in granting the motions. He also submits that the district court erred in excluding his expert witnesses. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the district court. 4 I BACKGROUND A. Mr. Ollison came to the IRCC on January 17, 2012, where Warden Nicholson and Warden Gossett were wardens for successive periods. 5 The IRCC Warden’s responsibilities 2 The Eighth Amendment is applicable to the states through the Four- teenth Amendment. See Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660, 666 (1962). 3 The district court’s jurisdiction was predicated on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343. 4 Our jurisdiction is secure under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. 5 Precisely when each defendant held the role is disputed, and the extent of each warden’s potential liability depends in part on his dates of em- ployment. At his first deposition, Warden Gossett testified that he became the IRCC’s warden in July 2012. However, in his supplemental answers to interrogatories, Warden Gossett asserted that he became warden in Sep- tember 2013. Contrary to Mr. Ollison’s assertion, the district court did not find that Warden Gossett became warden in September 2013. Instead, it “specifically allowed Plaintiff ‘to argue at summary judgment or at trial that Defendant Gossett worked at Illinois River Correctional Center prior to March of 2013.’” R.549 at 5. Despite this invitation, however, Mr. Ollison ( … continued) No. 23-1125 3 include “administering and directing the overall operations, programs, and activities of the [IRCC]” and “developing and implementing policies and procedures.”6 As part of his du- ties, Warden Gossett had monthly staff meetings with the heads of prison departments, including Nursing Director Edna Greenhagen. He also met regularly with Wexford Health Sources, Inc. (“Wexford”) Regional Manager Stacy Moore to discuss the prison’s health care unit. 7 Neither War- den Nicholson nor Warden Gossett had medical training. Both concede that Mr. Ollison received inadequate treatment while at the IRCC. Before Mr. Ollison entered the Illinois Department of Cor- rections system, he was diagnosed with and treated for kid- ney disease. When he came to the IRCC, Mr. Ollison informed intake personnel that he had a kidney condition, and his in- take laboratory tests co