The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has reached a $2.5 million settlement with the family of a man who bled to death from a perforated ulcer while in jail without receiving any treatment. 

Cristo Canett, 48, died at the El Paso County jail on April 26, 2022. His family sued El Paso County for rehiring Wellpath, the county’s former jail health care provider. The provider was also sued for gamesmanship through the courts to delay payment until the company had protection through bankruptcy filings, according to previous Gazette reporting.

Under the settlement terms, Berkley Public Entity, El Paso County’s excess insurance carrier, has paid or will pay $2 million and El Paso County has paid $500,000.  

An El Paso County spokesperson said in an email the settlement does not constitute an admission of liability by the county.

“Many factors are considered when reaching a settlement, including the potential financial burden on taxpayers of prolonged court proceedings, insurance ramifications, the interests of all parties and the desire to bring the matter to resolution,” the spokesperson said.

Canett was one of more than 20 people to die in El Paso County jail over four years, from 2020 to 2023, while Wellpath was the health care provider for the jail, according to previous Gazette reporting. An extensive review of documents involving the conduct of Wellpath revealed serious allegations of negligence resulting in death or serious injury in the jail over more than a decade during two different Wellpath contracts.

Canett went to St. Francis Hospital to seek help for severe back pain in 2022, but he was arrested on a warrant because he left the Community Corrections without approval, which his family claimed was a mistake. According to the lawsuit, the warrant was filed by Community Corrections in error and that Canett had approval to go to the hospital.

The case claimed he was never examined by any Wellpath staff members before his death, despite arriving at the hospital in severe pain and then being arrested.

Dan Weiss, an attorney from Holland, Holland Edwards & Grossman who helped represent Canett’s family, said the family is happy that the county has taken some accountability and hopes it changes how medical care is delivered to inmates.

“The family is here to seek justice, but they also wanted to do something to try and force some change on the system and were hopeful that a verdict like this would do that,” Weiss said. “Moving away from Wellpath was a really good decision.”

While El Paso County settled the case, Wellpath did not because the company filed for bankruptcy. The lawsuit was one of about 20 cases in Colorado and 1,500 nationwide filed against the company.

The prison health care company works across 37 states and cares for over 200,000 patients each day, according to its website. Because of this, Weiss does not expect the company to go away.

“They are very much not going to die under bankruptcy. They are just trying to evade the consequences of what they did to people like Canett,” Weiss said. 

According to Weiss, the law firm is still pursuing damages against Wellpath on behalf of Canett’s family because it’s possible there could be a payout for the family.

El Paso County changed health care providers to VitalCore for its jail in January 2024. In a presentation to county commissioners in 2024, Sheriff Joe Roybal said the jail has taken efforts to decrease inmate deaths by implementing a system that increases the amount of inmates being taken to the hospital.

Changes such as these have Weiss optimistic that the county is taking positive steps. He added that the understaffing issue with Wellpath does not seem to be happening with VitalCore.

“The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office extends our condolences to Mr. Canett’s family and friends. It is our hope this settlement provides the family an opportunity to continue their healing journey,” said Cassandra Sebastian, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office.