20 Aug Update in Cristo Canett’s Tragic Preventable Death Case — $3,250,000.00 in Settlements with El Paso County and The City of Colorado Springs; Wellpath Still Being Sued After Bankruptcy Reorganization.
On April 24, 2022, Cristo Canett went to the St. Francis Medical Center’s Emergency Room (“ER”) in persistent and unexplained severe back pain. He was seen by the triage nurse, given a white hospital bracelet to wear, and directed to wait for his doctor evaluation in the ER waiting room. Mr. Canett had gone to this same ER ten days prior with complaints of ongoing right flank pain. He was evaluated and treated, discharged and told to return if his symptoms worsened. At the time, Mr. Canett was nearing his release from ComCor.
Mr. Canett never saw the hospital doctor that day because two Colorado Springs police officers instead arrogated to themselves the power to remove Mr. Canett from the hospital ER before he could be seen by the doctor, despite themselves having no medical training or qualifications.
After Mr. Canett was removed by one officer, a supervising sergeant returned to the ER and was expressly told that Mr. Canett was waiting to be seen for his pain. Rather than discuss Mr. Canett’s medical status or his safety if he was taken to jail in the middle of this ER visit, the sergeant stated that she didn’t think Canett needed to be seen. The officers instead decided that Canett was “med-seeking”, i.e., faking his medical condition to get drugs.
Mr. Canett was not “med-seeking.” He was then experiencing a medical crisis – a severe and worsening ulcer that would perforate and kill him the next day. Despite this, he was never medically cleared to go to jail.
Shortly thereafter, upon his arrival at the El Paso County Jail, Mr. Canett informed staff of his emergency symptoms yet was again repeatedly denied sufficient medical care.
Mr. Canett’s alleged mistreatment continued during his receiving screening conducted by a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), during which he clearly demonstrated signs of extreme and dire pain yet received no physical assessment, taking of vitals, or any urgent referral for medical attention by a qualified provider.
Various involved El Paso County jail deputies sought the assistance of the medical unit, ran by Wellpath, in response to Mr. Canett’s audible moaning and perceptible suffering. Yet the Charge Nurse reportedly refused to house Mr. Canett in the medical unit or provide him with the evaluation he still so urgently needed. Instead, she instructed an on-duty EMT to deliver inadequate over-the-counter pain medications (Ibuprofen and Tylenol) hours after the deputies’ repeated requests for medical intervention.
At 1:41 a.m., Mr. Canett was pronounced dead due to a perforated duodenal ulcer. The lawsuits claimed, and still claim against Wellpath and its workers, that Mr. Canett could readily have been saved had he been provided with proper and timely medical and surgical interventions.
Mr. Canett’s family sued El Paso County, the two police officers and Wellpath. After extensive litigation in both Federal and State Courts, the El Paso County and the City of Colorado Springs separately settled with the Plaintiffs for a total of $3,250,000.00 — $2,500,000.00 and $750,000.00 respectively. Approval of the City settlement was just received.
During the Federal litigation, Wellpath, responsible for the medical individual jail caregivers, took bankruptcy under the weight of lawsuits all over the country involving many other very serious claims.
The Canett family is continuing to pursue Wellpath even after its reorganization plan was accepted in Bankruptcy.
Federal Chief Judge Domenico’s strong refusal to dismiss the claims against the Board of County Commissioners of the County of El Paso Colorado (BOCC) and the El Paso County Sheriff was significant in the earlier County settlement. His ruling placed the County Defendants themselves in a position of accountability for their own deliberate indifference in hiring companies they know likely won’t provide the necessary care. For other counties considering rehiring private contractors in the future, this ruling could sound more like an alarm.
In addition to its settlement payment, the City of Colorado Springs has importantly agreed to establish and implement a policy requiring that individuals awaiting or receiving medical care not be removed from such care by police without a medical clearance from the provider, absent an imminent threat by the individual to officers or the public.