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El Paso County reaches $3.4 million settlement with disabled man over jail injuries

By Savannah Eller 07/22/2025 | updated 3 weeks ago

El Paso County has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with a paraplegic man who sustained injuries under the watch of former medical provider WellPath in the El Paso County jail. 

The lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleged that former inmate Alexandro Duran developed pressure sores during his time in the jail that resulted in a medical furlough and long-term health issues.

The jail medical provider at the time, WellPath, did not provide Duran with the accommodations necessary to prevent injuries as a person paralyzed from the waist down by a previous spinal cord injury, the suit alleged. 

After multiple deaths and injuries resulting in other lawsuits at the El Paso County jail, WellPath was replaced last year. The company has since gone into bankruptcy, with dozens of other lawsuits around the country alleging mistreatment of inmates in other facilities.

According to court documents, Duran was denied use of a seat cushion in his wheelchair during his initial medical screening during intake in 2021. Without padding in the wheelchair or on his sleeping cot, Duran developed pressure sores due to being unable to reposition himself. 

Family of man who died in jail wins $2.5M settlement against El Paso County

The lawsuit also claims that Duran was not provided other accommodations, including access to a toilet and shower in his shared housing unit. The lawsuit alleged Duran was forced to ask for assistance from other inmates to put a chair in the shower, an action that would “risk discipline” according to the document.  

Duran was then put in the medical wing of the jail, where the lawsuit alleged he was kept isolated without medical care. The lawsuit alleged Duran then developed an infection from “Stage 4” sores reaching to his muscles and bones. The lawsuit claims Duran’s requests to be treated in a hospital were denied until his infections worsened to sepsis.

Duran’s medical furlough came in February 2022. He has since had continuing medical treatment for pressure sores and “related life-threatening infections,” according to court documents. 

Documents allege El Paso County inmates suffered death, major injuries from negligence

On Tuesday the El Paso County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution approving a $3.4 million payment to Duran. 

Aurora Randolph, an attorney for Duran, sent a statement to The Gazette on the settlement action. 

“A short jail stay should not endanger someone’s life, but that is what happened to Mr. Duran. His obvious medical needs went unmet, and the results were catastrophic — he left jail with life-threatening medical conditions that persist to this day.

“He has required a staggering amount of medical care since he left the jail and his future medical needs are significant.  This is what happens when jail medical contractors are allowed to ignore people’s basic medical needs. People get seriously injured, or worse.”

Family of man who died in jail wins $2.5M settlement against El Paso County

Private health provider files bankruptcy as families sue over deaths of loved ones in El Paso County jail

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