What is the test for qualified immunity in medical malpractice cases?

The qualified immunity test requires the following three steps: (1) identification of the specific right allegedly violated; (2) determination of whether that right was so "clearly established" as to alert a reasonable officer to its constitutional parameters; and (3) the ultimate determination of whether a reasonable officer could have believed lawful the particular conduct at issue. Romero v. Kitsap County, 931 F.2d 624, 627 (9th Cir.1991). Appellants argue that they should have been granted qualified immunity because the second, "clearly established," prong of the test has not been met.

The magistrate judge in this case held that the right allegedly violated was a prisoner's right, under the Eighth Amendment, to have prison officials not be "deliberately indifferent to serious medical needs." C.R. 230, at 4 (citing Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106, 97 S.Ct. 285, 292, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976)). He further found that this right was clearly established. Appellants argue that the magistrate judge defined the right too broadly.

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