Maxted Law Sues Garfield County Alleging Jail Wrongful Death

Photo of Oscar Canas

As reported by The Post Independent in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, David Maxted and Maxted Law LLC filed suit on behalf of the Estate of Oscar Canas and the minor children of Oscar Canas. The lawsuit alleges Mr. Canas died in Garfield County Jail due to a fatal combination of prescription drugs. The jail failed to ensure safety protocols were in place and followed regarding prescription drugs, including Suboxone under Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), and failed to ensure adequate safety protocols for the monitoring of people taking such medications.

Mr. Canas died overnight after being prescribed a fatal combination of olanzapine and Suboxone. Despite being found with blood coming out of his mouth and foaming at the mouth, unresponsive and dying from this fatal drug cocktail, jail staff overnight also failed to adequately monitor his safety overnight and prevent this death.

Maxted said Garfield County, Vallario and the two deputies are included in the lawsuit because they were directly responsible for Canas’ care. Although a medical contractor was involved in providing care, “With the county jail, it doesn’t matter who they contract, the county is ultimately responsible,” he said. “Otherwise, jails can hire somebody and wipe their hands clean, which obviously would not be lawful.”

Maxted said jails around Colorado are unfortunately “black boxes,” and that people typically don’t know what’s going on within their walls, which is a crucial component of this case.

“This really was a preventable death,” Maxted said. “It should’ve never occurred.”

For a link to the complete article at The Post Independent, click here.