Lawsuit: Man died from medication prescribed

Medical staff should’ve known mixture was dangerous, suit alleges A 19-year- old died in a Colorado jail cell after taking a “fatal drug cocktail” prescribed to him by medical staff a few months before he was scheduled to be released, according to a federal lawsuit filed in his death. Oscar Canas died on April 18, 2021, in the Garfield County jail while serving a one-year sentence for misdemeanor drug possession. He left behind a 2-year- old daughter and an 11-month- old son, according to the lawsuit filed last month against the county. The nurse practitioner working in the jail, Joanna Kluender, prescribed Canas the antipsychotic medication olanzapine two months into his incarceration for symptoms of the anxiety and insomnia he was experiencing during his jail stay. Seven months after he entered the jail, Kluender prescribed Canas with Suboxone — a medication used to treat opiate addiction. But Canas was not addicted to opioids, the lawsuit states. Canas told jail staff when he was admitted that he wanted treatment for methamphetamine use, and that while he had sporadically used heroin in the past, he had not used it recently nor was he addicted to it. “Even though he was already on a high dosage of olanzapine — known to be dangerous combined with Suboxone — jail staff mixed the drugs in dangerously high dosages and without following standard safety protocols, in deliberate indifference to the deadly risks to Mr. Canas,” the lawsuit states. The jail medical staff failed to properly introduce Suboxone to Canas’ body and failed to monitor his vital signs as he started the new drug, especially since the mixture of Suboxone and olanzapine can be fatal, the lawsuit states. Garfield County contracts with the Denver-based company Correctional Health Partners LLC for its health care services. Canas died after taking his second daily dose of Suboxone. A toxicology screen after his death found no substances besides “high concentrations” of the two prescribed medications in his body. The medical examiner found drug intoxication to be the cause of death and labeled the death an accident. The jail deputies working that night failed to properly check on Canas and did not enter his cell until he was already unresponsive, the lawsuit states. Canas had been placed in a cell without a cellmate. Deputies working that night “failed to check Mr. Canas for signs of life, failed to ensure he was breathing, failed to attempt to speak with him, failed to ask other staff to check on Mr. Canas, failed to inform medical staff of concerns, and failed to take any other action to ensure Mr. Canas was not suffering harm under her watch,” the lawsuit states. A spokesman for the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office declined an interview request for this story, citing the ongoing litigation. Correctional Health Partners LLC did not respond to a request for comment. State licensing records show Kluender, the nurse practitioner, is still licensed to practice in Colorado. There are no public orders of discipline on her license.