Estate of Jeffrey Scott Lillis v. Correct Care Solutions LLC, Et. Al.

Case 1:16-cv-03038-KLM Document 91-1 Filed 04/27/18 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 42
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 16-cv-3038
THE ESTATE OF JEFFREY SCOTT LILLIS,

by and through its co-personal representatives Meghan Lillis and Michele Driscoll;
MEGHAN LILLIS, individually;
C.A.L., individually, a minor, by and through Michele Driscoll as guardian;
C.S.L., individually, a minor, by and through Michele Driscoll as guardian;
A.L., individually, a minor, by and through Robin Booth as next friend and mother;
JORDAN LILLIS, individually;
ASHLEY PERRY, individually;
Plaintiffs,
v.
CORRECT CARE SOLUTIONS, LLC;

CORRECTIONAL HEALTHCARE COMPANIES, LLC;
GREAT PEAK HEALTHCARE SERVICES, P.C.;
CORRECTIONAL HEALTHCARE PHYSICIANS, P.C.;
MAXIM HEALTHCARE SERVICES, INC;
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF ARAPAHOE COUNTY;
DAVID C. WALCHER, in his official capacity as Arapahoe County Sheriff;
DENNIS L. FURR, D.O. individually;
ROBLY EVANS, RN, individually;
DENISE ELWELL, RN, individually;
RUTH KYAMBADDE, RN, individually;
Defendants.
_____________________________________________________________________________
FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND
Plaintiffs, by and through their attorneys of HOLLAND, HOLLAND EDWARDS &
GROSSMAN, PC, and KILLMER, LANE & NEWMAN, LLP, now complain against Defendants and
request a trial by jury as follows:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Jeffrey Scott Lillis was a 37-year-old inmate at the Arapahoe County Detention
Facility (“ACDF”) who died on December 14, 2014, as a result of deliberate indifference to his
known serious medical needs and negligence by Defendants.
2. Mr. Lillis died of sepsis and severe bacterial pneumonia, easily treatable
conditions that would not have killed him had Defendants provided him with proper and timely
medical attention and treatment.
3. Instead, Mr. Lillis’ infection went entirely untreated and was allowed to ravage
his body for days until it finally shut down.
4. He died a harrowing and painful death on the floor of his cell surrounded by his
own blood and vomit.
II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE
5. This action arises under the Constitution and laws of the United States, including
Article III, Section 1 of the United States Constitution and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 42 U.S.C. §
1988. The Jurisdiction of this Court is further invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343,
2201.
6. This case is instituted in the United States District Court for the District of
Colorado pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1391 as the judicial district in which all relevant events and
omissions occurred and in which Defendants maintain offices and/or reside.
7. Supplemental pendent jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. §1367 because the
violations of federal law alleged are substantial and the pendent causes of action derive from a
common nucleus of operative facts.
8. The state law claims in this matter are brought against private corporations and
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therefore no notice of claims was required under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act
(“CGIA”).
III. PARTIES
9. At all times pertinent hereto, the decedent, Jeffrey Scott Lillis, was a resident of
the State of Colorado and a citizen of the United States of America.
10. At all times relevant hereto, Plaintiff Meghan Lillis was a resident of the State of
Colorado and a citizen of the United States of America. Plaintiff Meghan Lillis was the wife of
Jeffrey Lillis.
11. At all times relevant hereto, Plaintiff CAL was a resident of the State of Colorado
and a Citizen of the United States of America. Plaintiff CAL is the minor child of Jeffrey Lillis.
12. At all times relevant hereto, Plaintiff CSL was a resident of the State of Colorado
and a Citizen of the United States of America. Plaintiff CSL is the minor child of Jeffrey Lillis.
13. Plaintiffs CAL and CSL are minors and bring claims through their guardian,
Michele Driscoll.
14. Plaintiff AL is a minor and a resident of the State of New York and a Citizen of
the United States of America. Plaintiff AL is a minor child of Jeffrey Lillis and brings claims
through her mother Robin Booth.
15. Plaintiff Jordan Lillis is a resident of the State of California and a Citizen of the
United States of America. Plaintiff Jordan Lillis is a child of Jeffrey Lillis.
16. Ashley Perry is a resident of the State of Connecticut and a Citizen of the United
States of America. Plaintiff Ashley Perry is a child of Jeffrey Lillis.
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17. Defendant Correctional Healthcare Companies, LLC (“CHC”) (formerly
Correctional Healthcare Companies, Inc) is a private Delaware corporation with its principal
street address located at 1283 Murfreesboro Road, Suite 500, Nashville, TN 37217. Its registered
agent of service in Colorado is located at 3773 Cherry Creek North Drive #575, Denver, CO
80209. This Defendant contracted with Arapahoe County to provide physician and other medical
services for Arapahoe County at ACDF.
18. Defendant Correct Care Solutions, LLC (“CCS”) is a Tennessee corporation
doing business in the State of Colorado, with its principal street address located at 1283
Murfreesboro Road, Suite 500, Nashville, TN 37217. Its registered agent of service in Colorado
is located at 3773 Cherry Creek North Drive #575, Denver, CO 80209. Correct Care Solutions,
LLC acquired Correctional Healthcare Companies, Inc. in 2014. This Defendant is believed to
have merged or joined with Correctional Healthcare Companies, LLC prior to the allegations of
this case and to be part of the contract with Arapahoe County.
19. Defendant Correctional Healthcare Physicians, P.C. (“CHP”) is a Colorado
corporation with its principal street address and registered agent of service at 6200 S. Syracuse
Way, Suite 440 Greenwood Village, CO 80111. This Defendant is believed to have contracted
with or employed Dr. Furr and/or to provide physician services to inmates at ACDF.
20. Defendant Great Peak Healthcare Services, P.C. (“Great Peak”) (formerly both
CHP and another entity called CCS Colorado Medical Services, P.C.) is a Colorado Corporation
with its principal street address and registered agent of service at 6200 S. Syracuse Way, Suite
440, Greenwood Village, CO 80111. This Defendant is understood to be the successor entity to
CHP and to have assumed the obligations of CHP, which employed or contracted with
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Defendant Dr. Furr.
21. Defendants CCS, CHC, CHP, and Great Peak are collectively referred to herein as
the “CHC/CCS Defendants.”
22. CHC/CCS Defendants are sued for negligence as they are private corporations not
entitled to any immunity under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act.
23. CHC/CCS Defendants are sued directly for negligent training of the nurses
working at ACDF when Mr. Lillis was detained, including, but not limited to, negligent training
with respect to nurses’ response to serious medical needs, including nurses’ contacting a higher
level provider or obtaining higher level assessment, and negligent failure to ensure appropriate
staffing and practices for the provision of appropriate care in the treatment of Mr. Lillis.
24. Defendant Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc (“Maxim”) is a Maryland corporation
with is principal street address as 7227 Lee Deforest Drive, Columbia, MD, 21046. Its registered
agent of service in Colorado is the Corporation Service Company, 1560 Broadway, Suite 2090,
Denver, CO 80202. This Defendant contracted with Arapahoe County to provide nursing
services to inmates at ACDF. Further this Defendant employed Defendant Nurses Robly Evans
and Denise Elwell.
25. Maxim is a private corporation, not entitled to any immunity under the Colorado
Governmental Immunity Act.
26. Maxim is sued vicariously for the acts and omissions of its agents and/or
employees, and for the herein described acts by its involved employees, agents, staff, and
affiliates, who were acting within the scope and course of their employment.
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27. As set forth in the Court’s March 30th, 2018, Order, [Doc. 87], the Board of
County Commissioners for Arapahoe County Colorado, hereinafter “BOCC”, is the proper party
to be sued for the unconstitutional policies, customs, and habits of the Arapahoe County
Detention Facility located at 7375 S. Potomac St., Centennial CO, 80112.
28. Arapahoe County Sheriff, David Walcher, in his official capacity, is sued
alternatively for the Board of County Commissioners pursuant to the Arapahoe County
Attorney’s current position that the Sheriff is the “correct entity defendant” for the policies of the
County jail.
29. BOCC and David Walcher are collectively referred to herein as “Arapahoe
County.”
30. Arapahoe County is sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 with respect to the hereinafter
challenged deliberately indifferent policies and practices for the care and treatment of persons
detained at the ACDF.
31. At all times relevant hereto, Defendant Dennis L. Furr, D.O. was a citizen of the
United States and a resident of Colorado.
32. At all times relevant hereto, Defendant Robly Evans, RN, was a resident of
Colorado and a citizen of the United States of America. Defendant Evans was an employee of
Maxim and acting under color of state law.
33. At all times relevant hereto, Defendant Denise Elwell, RN, was a resident of
Colorado and a citizen of the United States of America. Defendant Elwell was an employee of
Maxim.
34. At all times relevant hereto, Defendant Ruth Kyambadde, RN, was a resident of
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Colorado and a citizen of the United States of America. Defendant Kyambadde was an employee
of Arapahoe County and acting under color of state law.
IV. STATEMENT OF FACTS
35. Mr. Lillis was a pre-trial detainee at ACDF from August until he died on
December 14, 2014 of sepsis caused by untreated bacterial pneumonia.
36. Mr. Lillis had been sick and appeared very ill since around the beginning of
December 2014.
37. Mr. Lillis’ fellow inmate, Sonny Torres, stated that Mr. Lillis had been
complaining that was not feeling well throughout the first two weeks of December. He was
nauseous and coughing a lot.
38. On the night of December 11, 2014, his illness became so severe that Mr. Lillis
submitted a kite (medical request) stating: “help, I am very sick, with a fever, headaches, cough,
overall not feeling so good also my skin is so dry its driving me crazy.”
39. According to fellow inmate Thomas Karavolas, Mr. Lillis was up all night of the
11th seriously sick, suffering from a fever, and did not look good.
40. Mr. Lillis also complained to Mr. Karavolas that he had not been feeling well for
a few days.
41. There was no response to the December 11th Kite.
42. The next morning, on December 12, 2014, Mr. Lillis was too sick to wait for a
response to his medical kite, and approached the nurse administering morning medication pass
(“med pass”).
43. He told Paula Bertram, LPN, that he was sick.
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44. According to Nurse Bertram’s chart notes, Mr. Lillis had a high temperature of
102.9 at 7:56 a.m. on December 12, 2014.
45. Nurse Bertram transferred Mr. Lillis to the medical unit at ACDF for
“observations.” She found that he had a “sore throat,” “fever (T>100),” and a “runny nose,” and
was “aching all over” and “coughing.”
46. Nurse Bertram initiated an “Influenza-Like-Illness” and Respiratory Infection
protocols, and Mr. Lillis was given Tylenol, Mucinex, and an antihistamine.
47. At around 9:35 a.m. on December 12, 2014, Mr. Lillis was visited by Cynthia
Davis. Ms. Davis works with Addiction Research & Treatment Services (ARTS) and was
evaluating whether Mr. Lillis should be placed in a residential addiction program rather than jail.
48. It was obvious to Ms. Davis that Mr. Lillis was very sick. During the visit, he had
a towel over his head and was so physically uncomfortable that she offered to come back another
day.
49. He was obviously congested and very ill. He was coughing into a towel.
50. Ms. Davis heard Mr. Lillis asking a deputy walking through the hallway for
medical help and the deputy said he would ask medical.
51. Mr. Lillis told the deputy that he was really sick and needed help.
52. No medical worker responded to this request while Ms. Davis was present.
53. At around noon on December 12, 2014, Mr. Lillis was seen by Lucia Azocar,
LPN. At this time, he had a blood pressure reading of 113/76, pulse of 68, a respiratory rate of
19 breaths per minute (“respiration”), temperature of 97.5 and a blood oxygen level (“pulse ox”)
of 93% oxygen saturated hemoglobin relative to total hemoglobin in the blood.
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54. Nurse Azocar noted that Mr. Lillis had “discomfort with swallowing or talking,”
“nasal congestion,” and “non-productive cough.” She charted that his throat and nares were
“red” and his cough was “dry.”
55. At around 4:51 pm December 12, 2014, Mr. Lillis was seen by Anita Brown, RN.
56. Nurse Brown charted that Mr. Lillis had “chills and fever, congestion and cough
that is non-productive.” She noted that he had sinus congestion and cough.
57. At this time, Nurse Brown charted that he had a high fever of 102.5. His blood
pressure was 115/80, pulse was 100, respirations were 20, and his pulse ox was 91%.
58. Mr. Lillis also complained to Nurse Brown of nausea and diarrhea.
59. Nausea and diarrhea, accompanying a persistent high fever, congestion, chills,
and cough, are signs that an illness has a systemic component likely caused by bacteria.
60. They are also all symptoms of bacterial pneumonia, the infection that killed Mr.
Lillis.
61. These symptoms require doctor evaluation.
62. Further, Mr. Lillis was known by all of the involved medical staff to be diagnosed
with Hepatitis C and therefore that he was at an increased risk of serious consequences from
infections.
63. Despite Nurse Brown knowing that Mr. Lillis had now been persistently and
increasingly sick for days, had a dangerously high fever, a worsening cough, diarrhea, and
nausea, she did not even call a doctor or obtain any treatment for this obviously sick man.
64. Nurse Brown instead started a Headache Protocol and gave Mr. Lillis ibuprofen
and Gatorade.
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65. On December 12th, around 10:19 pm, Jason Frank, RN saw Mr. Lillis during
medication pass.
66. Mr. Lillis had a very high temperature of 103.1.
67. Nurse Frank did not take any blood pressure, pulse, respiration, or oxygenation
readings.
68. Nurse Frank also did not call the doctor or obtain any treatment for this obviously
sick man.
69. Nurse Frank simply continued to give Mr. Lillis ibuprofen and cold medicine,
things that were clearly not working to resolve this growing infection.
70. The next morning on December 13, 2014, at around 7:49 a.m., Mr. Lillis saw
Defendant Robly Evans, RN. He had a temperature of 98.3. No blood pressure, pulse,
respiration, or oxygenation readings were taken.
71. On December 13, 2014, sometime in the mid afternoon, Mr. Lillis was seen again
by Nurse Evans.
72. At 2:33 p.m., Nurse Evans charted that he had a blood pressure of 99/76,
respiration of 26, temperature of 98.8. He had a reported pulse ox of 98%.
73. Nurse Evans also noted that he was coughing up blood, charting: Mr. Lillis “was
C/O [complaining of] coughing and producing blood from coughing so hard.”
74. It is well known and obvious to lay people, as well as registered nurses, that
coughing up blood is a serious condition, is outside a nurses’ scope of practice to diagnose, and
requires immediate medical evaluation.
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75. Coughing up blood is particularly serious in the context of this abnormally low
blood pressure reading.
76. Nurse Evans also noted a change in mental status, charting that Mr. Lillis was
“agitated at staff.”
77. Agitation is a sign of hypoxia and sepsis.
78. Nurse Evans finally called the on-call doctor, Defendant Dr. Furr.
79. According to Dr. Furr, Nurse Evans reported that Mr. Lillis had “blood-tinged
sputum.”
80. Defendant Evans’ failure to relay all of the critical information about Mr. Lillis’
worsening condition and medical crisis to Dr. Furr, including that he was “producing blood” as
she charted, was an outrageous abandonment of Mr. Lillis by Nurse Evans in this medical crisis.
81. Moreover, even if Nurse Evans only told Dr. Furr that Mr. Lillis had blood-tinged
sputum, blood in sputum in a sick person indicates a medical emergency because, among other
things, they are symptoms of pneumonia.
82. Low blood pressure, high fever, high respiration and pulse, coughing up blood,
and change in condition involving agitation were emergency symptoms and required transfer for
higher level medical evaluation and a chest x-ray.
83. Dr. Furr did not order a chest x-ray, culture of the sputum, or any outside
evaluation despite obvious signs of a worsening serious infection.
84. A chest x-ray would very likely revealed the significant pneumonia that caused
Mr. Lillis’s death.
85. Dr. Furr merely ordered cough medicine that ACDF apparently does not even
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maintain.
86. Thus, Nurse Evans charted that Dr. Furr ordered medication that they “did not
have here; nor were able to get quickly.”
87. Despite the fact that it is the policy of Arapahoe County and CHC/CCS
Defendants not to have cough medication like that ordered by Dr. Furr available for inmates, the
involved nurses did nothing to obtain a different prescription or inform the doctor of the
continuing and escalating emergency symptoms.
88. Regardless, the medication Dr. Furr ordered was Robitussin DMX and Robitussin
with Codeine, which were mere cold medicines known to be completely ineffective to Mr. Lillis’
bacterial infection.
89. Nurses and Dr. Furr allowed this infection to spread throughout Mr. Lillis’ body,
because they chose not to provide a more expensive necessary medical evaluation.
90. Nurse Evans told Mr. Lillis to elevate his head – another suggestion for Mr. Lillis
that was of no use.
91. Dr. Furr did not have any higher level provider evaluate Mr. Lillis, a man who
was so sick he had to be taken out of general population and put into the medical unit with
reports of coughing up blood. There is also no sign in the medical record that he or any other
medical provider ever checked in with nursing staff regarding Mr. Lillis.
92. It was the policy, practice and custom of Arapahoe County and CCS Defendants
at that time that no doctor or mid-level provider routinely evaluated inmates who were so sick
they had to be brought to the medical unit from general population.
93. It is the contracted for policy and plan of Arapahoe County to have doctors like
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Dr. Furr available only on a telephone support basis on the weekend.
94. Nursing staff did not call Dr. Furr or any other doctor ever again.
95. Despite his serious symptoms, Mr. Lillis was not monitored or meaningfully
evaluated. He was not put on a regular schedule to be checked and instead was primarily
observed by nurses incidentally when they were on their routine med passes. The nurses’ failure
to closely monitor Mr. Lillis was pursuant to Arapahoe County policy, practice, and custom, and
CHC/CCS Defendants’ training and protocols for ACDF nurses.
96. On December 13, 2014, Defendant Denise Elwell, RN was conducting “1600 med
pass.”
97. Nurse Elwell observed that Mr. Lillis’ coughing had slowed down but “was still
present.”
98. Nurse Elwell charted that at 4:00 p.m., Mr. Lillis had a temperature of 100.3.
99. No blood pressure, pulse, respiration, or oxygenation readings were taken.
100. Mr. Lillis obviously again asked for help for his serious medical condition
because Nurse Elwell reported that, “Patient advised that no suppression medications are
available.”
101. Nurse Elwell next charted at 10:30 p.m. on December 13, 2014, that “some
congestion” was heard in his “L-Lower lung.”
102. Again, no blood pressure, pulse, respiration, or oxygenation readings were taken.
103. Nurse Elwell did not call a doctor or do anything to help Mr. Lillis obtain
necessary treatment.
104. Instead of treating this obvious serious condition of a patient who had been sick
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with a high fever, congestion, low blood pressure and cough producing blood, Mr. Lillis was
merely given ibuprofen, salt water and cold medicines.
105. On the morning of December 14, 2014 at around 7:30 a.m. during “AM med
pass,” Nancy Winegar, RN charted that Mr. Lillis complained of “weakness, sorthroat [sic],
coughing, and fever x 4 days.”
106. Nurse Winegar noted that he had an elevated pulse of 121 and that his throat was
red.
107. At this point Mr. Lillis also had a temperature of 98.1, blood pressure of 104/71,
respirations of 18 and a pulse ox of 91%.
108. A pulse of 121 is significantly high and a sign of sepsis.
109. In the context of these other symptoms, including the low blood pressure, Mr.
Lillis was probably going into sepsis and becoming hypovolemic.
110. A common symptom of pneumonia is also a high heart rate.
111. But once again, despite this persisting serious illness, which now included marked
weakness, Nurse Winegar provided no meaningful medical attention and instead just told Mr.
Lillis to rest and drink fluids.
112. At around 4:45 p.m. on December 14, 2014, Mr. Lillis told Deputy J. Crist that he
needed to speak with a nurse because he had “liver pain.”
113. Deputy Crist reported this new symptom to Defendant Ruth Kyambadde, RN.
114. Nurse Kyambadde chose not to see Mr. Lillis at that time.
115. After evening med pass, Mr. Lillis called the medical control tower and “again
stated that he needed to speak with a nurse and that he wasn’t feeling well.” He reported that he
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was in a lot of pain and needed medication.
116. Nurse Kyambadde and Deputy Crist responded to his cell.
117. Nurse Kyambadde spoke to Mr. Lillis who asked to be put on a withdrawal
protocol despite having been incarcerated for months and thus not withdrawing from any drugs
at that time, to all the involved medical workers’ knowledge.
118. Nurse Kyambadde asked Mr. Lillis what medications he was withdrawing, to
which he responded: “None.”
119. A common symptom of both sepsis and pneumonia is confusion or disorientation,
the exact type of mental state Mr. Lillis was now obviously exhibiting.
120. Nurse Kyambadde recklessly chose to ignore his confused mental state, yet
another serious medical emergent symptom ignored by staff.
121. When the deputies served dinner, around 6:15 p.m., Deputy Christ reported to
Nurse Kyambadde that Mr. Lillis “looked sick.”
122. He is seen on video extremely restless, getting up and down, holding his head in
his hands, and unable to stay in one position for too long.
123. About 40 minutes later, around 6:55 p.m., Nurse Kyambadde finally came to
check on Mr. Lillis and found him “lying in bed on his left side.”
124. Nurse Kyambadde stated that he was “moving vigorously,” holding his breath,
and asking for anxiety medications.
125. Nurse Kyambadde outrageously falsely reported that she was unable to take his
vitals because “[h]e kept on moving and the machine would not register his vital signs because of
movement.”
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126. The video shows that Mr. Lillis was lying still the whole time for a matter of
minutes while Nurse Kyambadde took blood pressure readings, temperature, and pulse ox.
127. None of these readings less than an hour before he died were written down.
128. Instead, Nurse Kyambadde later told falsely investigators that she tried three
times to get his vitals but was unable due to Lillis’ restlessness and him “holding his breath.”
129. More likely, Mr. Lillis’ pulse ox and blood pressure readings were startlingly low
because he was septic and dying.
130. Nurse Kyambadde attributed this dire condition to faking and “holding his
breath.”
131. Mr. Lillis told Nurse Kyambadde that he had “coughed up blood.”
132. At around 7:13 p.m., Nurse Kyambadde returned and callously gave Mr. Lillis “a
basin and asked him to cough up into that basin, so she could evaluate his condition better.”
133. Nurses are all trained and aware that coughing up blood is a serious medical
condition, the evaluation and treatment plan for which is outside the scope of practice for nurses,
requiring emergency treatment or at the very least, medical evaluation and diagnosis.
134. Coughing up blood is an emergency symptom that requires transfer to a hospital
or, at least, doctor evaluation.
135. Nurses cannot diagnose or evaluate why an inmate is coughing up blood or order
tests.
136. Nurse Kyambadde, however, rather than call a doctor, actually required Mr. Lillis
to prove that he was coughing up blood by coughing it into the basin.
137. Nurse Kyambadde’s failure to call a doctor or transfer Mr. Lillis to a hospital
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despite his critical symptoms was consistent with Arapahoe County’s policy, practice, and
custom at ACDF not to obtain higher-level medical evaluation for inmates who are seriously ill,
and Nurse Kyambadde’s inactions were taken pursuant to CHC/CCS Defendants’ training and
protocols for ACDF nurses.
138. Mr. Lillis told Nurse Kyambadde that he also was having diarrhea.
139. Mr. Lillis needed antibiotics and fluids to treat his infection and subsequent
sepsis. Instead he was given ineffective over-the-counter medications, consisting of Tylenol,
Ibuprofen, Mucinex, and antihistamine. A person who was coughing up blood with a history of
high fever, elevated pulse, headache, sore/red throat, severe coughing, diarrhea, low blood
oxygen, and nausea requires an emergency higher level provider evaluation.
140. Despite Mr. Lillis getting obviously worse and worse, coughing up blood, having
a high fever, writhing around in a confused mental state, acting anxious and agitated, having a
low blood pressure, elevated pulse, diarrhea, and multiple requests for actual medical treatment
from Mr. Lillis, these nurses gave him ineffective ibuprofen and over-the-counter cold medicine,
completely failing to get him seen by a doctor or transferred out of the facility to receive
antibiotics or other necessary interventions.
141. These involved nurses refused to even call back the doctor or make a plan for
emergency care.
142. Instead, Nurse Kyambadde offered Mr. Lillis some Gatorade.
143. Gatorade is a deliberately indifferent response to an inmate coughing up blood
and presenting with these life-threating symptoms.
144. Mr. Lillis was obviously very ill and restless during this time. The video shows
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him leaning against the wall.
145. At 7:26 p.m., the deputy came back into the room and talked to Mr. Lillis and
then left.
146. At around 7:28 p.m., Mr. Lillis collapsed off of the toilet onto the floor.
147. At 7:30 p.m., Deputy Dube, who was watching the cameras in the medical unit,
reported to nurses the medical emergency that Mr. Lillis had fallen off the toilet.
148. According to Deputy Dube:
I advised Nurse Ruth Kyambadde *2009045 that he had fallen from the toilet.
Nurse Ruth wanted to see how he had fallen so the video was played backwards.
He was seen falling to the floor using both of his hands to break his landing. He
rolled to his left lying down on the floor. I saw him moving around the cell after
he had fallen down.
149. The video shows Mr. Lillis collapsing off the toilet and laying on the ground,
crawling and rolling around in obvious suffering and distress.
150. He can barely move.
151. He is, however, clearly still alive in the video and moves across the floor toward
his bed.
152. Rather than respond to this obvious medical crisis, Nurse Kyambadde
inexplicably had the deputy rewind the video to watch him falling off the toilet and laying on the
floor in agonizing pain.
153. There was absolutely no medical justification for Nurse Kyambadde to review the
video with the deputy to watch an inmate fall off the toilet and lie on the floor while he is dying.
154. She wasted over ten crucial minutes in response to this obvious medical
emergency reported by the deputy. She stated: “after fall was reported I asked the deputy to
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rewind the tape to see how he happened to fall of the toilet and then I noted on camera that he
was crawling to his bed but then lay down on his left side.”
155. It took over ten minutes before Nurse Kyambadde went to his cell to see why this
very sick patient had fallen off the toilet and laid on the floor.
156. Nurse Kyambadde asked Deputy Crist to accompany her to try again to get a
blood pressure reading.
157. When they entered the cell at approximately 7:41 p.m., Mr. Lillis was
unresponsive but Nurse Kyambadde stated to Deputy Crist that he had a “faint pulse.”
158. Mr. Lillis was apparently still fighting to live during the over ten minutes this
nurse chose to deny care and review video footage, for absolutely no possible medical reason.
159. Nurse Kyambadde did not report the finding of this pulse in her post-incident
report.
160. When they entered his cell, Mr. Lillis had blood coming out of his mouth. He
was surrounded by his own blood and vomit on the floor.
161. Nurse Kyambadde stated that, “when I entered the cell inmate was unresponsive
laying supine assessed for pulse and could see blood coming out of his mouth.”
162. Finally, after days of severe and worsening obvious illness with a serious cough
producing blood, diarrhea, and fever and ultimately his death, a medical emergency was called at
7:43 p.m.
163. The only way Mr. Lillis’ could get his emergent condition treated as an
emergency was to die on the floor in his own blood and vomit.
164. Continuing this pattern of reckless care, the emergency equipment, including the
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Automatic External Defibrillator (AED), was not readily available.
165. Nurse Kyambadde asked for “an AED from booking and emergency air.”
166. Deputies brought the suction machine but it had been stored without the tubing
and required components, causing nurses to run and look for the parts before nurses could even
suction vomit out of Mr. Lillis’ airway.
167. Deputy Longfellow responded to a request to bring the AED but by the time an
AED could be brought to Mr. Lillis his heart no longer showed electrical activity.
168. Nurse Stephanie Haug, who responded to the medical emergency call, noted on
the “Man Down Critique” form (which was part of Arapahoe County’s review of Mr. Lillis’
death) that emergency supplies were not “easily and quickly available, stating: “Booking suction
tubing unavailable at site stored.”
169. Under the heading “what went wrong?” Nurse Haug reported “suction supplies
not readily available – pt. [patient] passed away.”
170. Nurse Elwell also reported that not only was suctioning equipment not readily
available but it also “took a while to get AED device up to MC11 [the medical cell where Mr.
Lillis was].”
171. Nurse Elwell attempted to minimize the importance of not having readily
available emergency equipment, stating that it “may not have been necessary – appears patient
may have been down for a period of time before being noticed.”
172. But in fact Mr. Lillis was not down after a period of not being noticed; rather, he
was cruelly watched falling off the toilet and crawling to the bed for over ten minutes.
173. Indeed, by the time the AED was finally brought to Mr. Lillis’ cell, there was no
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shockable rhythm indicating use of AED.
174. CPR and other Resuscitation efforts proved futile and Mr. Lillis was pronounced
dead at 8:09 p.m. on December 14, 2014.
175. After his death, Andrea Stephen, Supervising Criminalist, responded to the cell of
Mr. Lillis and noted that he had vomit on his face and the floor around him. His food tray was
on the sink and “appeared to be untouched.”
176. Investigator Stephen took photographs of Mr. Lillis at the scene showing that he
had been coughing up blood and vomiting.
177. This is a picture of Mr. Lillis at around the time of his death:
178. On autopsy, Dr. Kelly Lear-Kaul, Arapahoe County Coroner and Forensic
Pathologist found that Mr. Lillis had “very severe pneumonia” (emphasis in original) and
specifically concluded that his death as caused by “sepsis due to severe lobar pneumonia.”
179. Mr. Lillis was found to have staphylococcus aureus grown from his blood and
lung tissue. He had a severe lobar pneumonia with abscess of his left lung, as well as
bronchopneumonia of his right lung, a left pleural empyema and a recent history of fever and
21
cough.
180. His left lung was so infected and filled with purulent fluid that it weighed 1230
grams, almost twice the weight of his right lung and more than twice the weight of a normal
post-mortem lung, which should be between 400 and 600 grams.
181. The coroner also found “300 milliliters of purulent, cloudy yellow to red fluid
accompanied by fibrinous adhesions involving the pulmonary pleural surfaces.”
182. Mr. Lillis’ larynx and trachea showed “brown to red discoloration” and his left
lung was “mottled with fibrinous adhesions.”
183. His lungs contained “blood and frothy fluid”. The parenchyma of the left lung
was “red to purple and diffusely hemorrhagic appearing with extensive uniform diffuse
consolidation compromising 75% of the parnchyma of the upper lobe and 100% of the
parenchyma of the lower lobe.”
184. His left lung had a “2.5 centimeter irregular abscess.”
185. On microscopic examination of the lungs, the coroner found “necrotizing
neutrophilic inflammation and mixed inflammatory cells, with mild to severe luminal narrowing
of bronchi” and “marked diffuse neutrophilic involvement with parenchymal necrosis and micro
abscesses of the left lung.”
186. The coroner also found “hemorrhage with extensive bacterial overgrowth” in the
lungs, in the “left greater than right.”
187. All these findings show that Mr. Lillis died a gruesome and painful death,
accompanied by significant suffering.
188. According to the Autopsy and Death Investigation, Mr. Lillis experienced a
22
“‘Cadaveric Spasm,’ which is a rare form of muscular stiffening that occurs at the moment of
death” and which is “usually associated with violent deaths happening under extremely physical
circumstances with intense emotion.”
189. Mr. Lillis suffered immensely in the moments before he died, moments that were
cruelly reviewed on video by nursing staff rather than helping him.
190. The type of illness shown on Mr. Lillis’ autopsy was so significant that his illness
in the days prior to death would be obviously emergent to a layperson, and clearly to nurses.
191. Even as early as the 12th of December in the morning, the seriousness of Mr.
Lillis’ illness was obvious to Cynthia Davis.
192. As he became septic over the next days, those serious symptoms dramatically
increased.
193. The type of symptoms associated with this level of illness are very likely to have
been even more significant than the already emergent but under-charted symptoms by involved
nurses.
194. It was only after the needless and painful death of Mr. Lillis that Arapahoe
County and CHC/CCS implemented a requirement that jail doctors and mid-level providers
would actually routinely see and evaluate inmates who were brought to the medical unit from the
general population.
195. Pneumonia, sepsis and associated shock are treatable conditions through the
administration of antibiotics and intravenous fluids.
196. Had the nurses who saw Mr. Lillis over this period or Dr. Furr responded
appropriately to Mr. Lillis’ serious symptoms by obtaining the necessary treatment for Mr. Lillis,
23
Mr. Lillis likely would not have died.
197. Mr. Lillis was 37 years old at the time of his death.
198. Jeffrey Lillis was much loved by his wife, Meghan Lillis, and all of his chidren,
who along with his estate have suffered emotional harm and damages.
199. Mr. Lillis and Meghan had been married since August 1, 2008, and had two
children, CAL and CSL, together.
200. Mr. Lillis had three other children: Ashley Perry, Jordan Lillis, and AL (who is
still a minor).
201. Although Ashley, Jordan, and AL did not live in Colorado, they each maintained
a relationship with Mr. Lillis and have been devestated by his death.
202. While Mr. Lillis’ struggles with substance abuse affected his relationships with
his wife and children, he loved his wife and children very much and they loved him.
203. Because of Defendants’ complained of conduct, the lives of Meghan, Ashley,
Jordan, AL, CSL, and CAL will never be the same.
Arapahoe County’s Monell Liability and CHC/CCS Defendants’ Negligence
204. Medical care in jails has become scandalously deliberately indifferent, causing
serious injuries and death to countless inmates around the Country.
205. Many of these deaths are from entirely preventable or treatable diseases that
rarely kill people outside of jail, such as bacterial pneumonia. These conditions or diseases are
simply ignored and these inmates are left to die (often on the floor in their cell) without ever
receiving any timely medical intervention.
206. A major factor in this nationwide pattern is the use of private, for-profit, medical
24
companies in providing care in jails, a practice motivated by a desire to cut costs.
207. The use of private companies, and the respective contracts shifting various costs
between counties and private companies, encourage cost reduction and discourage proper
oversight. The for-profit motive contributes significantly to the development of widespread
practices, policies and training that cause deliberate indifference to serious medical needs,
including disincentivizing use of the appropriate level medical staff to evaluate illness and
transfers for needed medical care, and treating inmates as though their known serious needs are
faked or exaggerated.
208. Arapahoe County is part of this nationwide problem and maintained
unconstitutional policies and customs regarding providing emergency and/or higher-level care in
a timely manner, including regarding when to call a higher level provider.
209. It was well known by Arapahoe County prior to Mr. Lillis’ death that there was a
pattern and practice of deliberately indifferent medical care in ACDF, which included: not
having inmates seen or evaluated by higher level medical providers, even when necessary to
prevent serious injury or death; allowing and training nurses to practice outside their nursing
scope and not call doctors when obviously necessary; refusing to transfer inmates to a higher
level of acuity even where necessary to prevent serious injury or death; and, a widespread
custom and tolerated practice and habit of treating all inmate or detainee illnesses as faked or not
serious until an inmate/detainee can prove otherwise (although short of dying, it is not clear how
they do this since obviously coughing up blood is not enough), often to save money on providers
and testing.
25
210. These patterns and practices compelled involved nurses to adopt a wait and see
approach, to practice outside their scope, to require Mr. Lillis to prove the severity of his illness
before being assessed and treated, to refrain from calling a doctor and or underreport the known
severity, and to refrain from arranging for emergency transport.
211. Arapahoe County adopted deliberately indifferent policies regarding the
understaffing of ACDF of doctors and higher level providers including a staffing plan that did
not provide for doctors and higher level providers to be present at ACDF often enough so as to
make sure such providers would evaluate inmates too sick to be in general population with
symptoms that indicate serious illness.
212. Arapahoe County contracts with CHC/CCS Defendants to provide upper level
medical care, including doctor and nurse practitioner services, as well as to provide protocols and
training related to such protocols to nurses, including on when to call on-call doctors.
213. Pursuant to the written Contract between Arapahoe County and CHC/CCS
Defendants, Arapahoe County is financially responsible for off-site medical care and any
overages in higher level care or testing, overages and testing which would have prevented Mr.
Lillis’ death.
214. This Contract only requires CHC/CCS Defendants to provide 24 hours of on site
Physician care per week.
215. No higher level provider was in the jail to see Mr. Lillis because he became
gravely ill over the weekend and there is not regular staffing of medical providers on the
weekend, only “telephone support.”
216. Similarly this contract provides for 24-hour on-call physician “telephone support”
26
service, which is utilized as a method for nurses to ask questions but does not mean that a doctor
actually evaluates the inmate.
217. Based on Arapahoe County’s decision to save money at the expense of inmate
health and pay only for this minimal higher level provider contract, doctors did not come to the
facility to evaluate increasingly sick patients that are kept at the jail, even for inmates who were
moved to the medical unit because they were too sick to be in the general population.
218. Also based on Arapahoe County’s decision to save money at the expense of
inmate health, nurses and telephone support doctors do not arrange for higher-level care to come
to the jail or for inmates to go to a higher level of acuity.
219. Arapahoe County uses CHC/CCS Defendants’ documents, protocols and/or
policies in the provision of medical care to inmates by nursing staff. Additionally, the protocols
employed by nurses should be signed by a doctor, believed to be the CHC/CCS Defendants’
employee or agent. This same person should be overseeing nursing use of protocols and thus
necessarily involved in the nursing care provided to patients.
220. CHC/CCS Defendants and Arapahoe County failed to adequatley train the nursing
staff on these protocols, including when to seek transport of an inmate for emergency services or
call the doctor and how to effectively communicate with a doctor about a patient’s condition.
221. Arapahoe County failed to adequately train and supervise their nursing staff,
amounting to deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of inmates presenting with
serious conditions requiring medical evaluation and treatment.
222. Nurses are deliberately indifferently trained not to treat serious symptoms such as
a persisting high fever, cough producing blood, and change in mental state as an emergency and,
27
instead, to adopt a reckless wait and see approach without meaningful or appropriate evaluation
and to assume that inmates are “faking” their symptoms.
223. The need to train nurses to treat serious symptoms such as a persisting high fever,
cough producing blood, and change in mental state as an emergency and seek higher-level
evaluation, as well as to accurately and appropirately communicate the patient’s system to
higher-level providers, and the probability that the failure to provide such training would cause
an inmate like Mr. Lillis to die of a treatable illness like pneumonia was so obvious that
Arapahoe County’s failure to do so constituted deliberate indifference to Mr. Lillis’ serious
medical needs.
224. The need to implement a policy that would require medical providers to routinely
make rounds on or otherwise see such inmates and the probability that the failure to do so would
cause an inmate like Mr. Lillis to die of a treatable illness like pneumonia was so obvious that
Arapahoe County’s failure to do so constituted deliberate indifference to Mr. Lillis’ serious
medical needs.
225. CHC/CCS Defendants and Arapahoe County train and supervise ACDF nurses to
adopt a reckless wait and see approach to serious medical conditions, and not to immediately
have inmates with symptoms indicating serious conditions timely evaluated by higher-level
providers.
226. A wait and see approach for an inmate coughing up blood, with a high fever and
other signs of systemic illness is reckless and deliberately indifferent.
227. A motivating factor in this reckless wait and see approach is the financial impact
of hospitalization on Arapahoe County.
28
228. This reckless wait and see approach is informed by the general widespread
protocol of not spending the money to have patients actually evaluated in a timely fashion,
including contracting only for telephone doctor support on the weekend.
229. Instead of calling the doctor, nurses are encouraged to practice outside their
nursing scope, not call higher level providers when such a call is required, and make their own
determinations about the cause and veracity of an inmates’ serious medical complaints, often
concluding that an inmate’s condition is intentionally faked or exaggerated.
230. Pursuant to this County practice, no nurse employed by Arapahoe County (Nurse
Evans was employed by Maxim) ever even called a doctor or any other higher level provider.
231. Defendant Kyambadde and other involved nurses were compelled to their actions
and inactions by the policies, customs and training of Arapahoe County and CHC/CCS
Defendants, as well as Arapahoe County and CHC/CCS Defendants not having a higher-level
provider on site, in adopting the reckless wait and see approach, not calling a higher level
provider, not transporting Mr. Lillis for evaluation, and requiring him to prove he was coughing
up blood to show that the seriousness of his condition was not faked.
232. Arapahoe County and involved companies participated in a Mortality Review
after the death of Mr. Lillis and changed the policy of Arapahoe County and CHC/CCS
Defendants to now require that a doctor routinely see inmates who are deemed too sick to stay in
the general population. The Mortality Review specifically states that Arapahoe County and
CHC/CCS Defendants were: “initiating immediately, rounds on all patients in the Inpatient Unit
who have been brought in from a general population housing unit. The doctor and/or nurse
practitioner will round with the inpatient nurse each day they are there to ensure that no medical
29
condition/concern is missed.”
233. Sadly, this obviously necessary policy for doctors to actually see and evaluate
sick people was not in place at the time of Mr. Lillis’ death.
234. Instead, pursuant to then-existing policy, practice, custom, and training of
Araphoe County and CHC/CCS Defendants, Mr. Lillis was kept in the medical unit while his
body was ravaged by an untreated infection under the reckless wait and see approach.
235. Despite review of the foregoing deliberate indifference and negligence of the
nurses involved in Mr. Lillis’s death, no nurses were disciplined as a result of this needless
death.
236. Without the benefit of formal discovery often necessary in these entity claims,
undersigned counsel is aware of at least two other inmates at ACDF who were denied timely
medical care and emergency treatment resulting in serious injuries and/or death.
237. In 2013, James Neisler was denied timely medical care and emergency treatment
for an untreated infection requiring antibiotics, as here, resulting in amputations of all of his toes.
Mr. Neisler was treated with reckless deliberate indifference by nurses and medical personnel at
ACDF, evidenced by their multiple conscious refusals to act and the utter abandonment of this
man in medical crisis for a month, including their deliberately indifferent refusal to let him see a
doctor in a timely fashion, not giving him necessary antibiotics for a raging infection, and their
decision to not secure necessary medical attention or timely transfer him out of the facility, as
was needed and required.
238. The legal claims related to Mr. Neisler’s care brought against Arapahoe County
were settled confidentially.
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239. In April 2017, Denny Lovern collapsed and died on the floor of his cell from an
entirely treatable medical condition, just five days after he arrived at ACDF. Despite reporting he
was having serious chest pains, a heart attack, vomiting bile, and despite his cellmate and other
inmates observing his deteriorating condition and requesting medical intervention, jail staff did
nothing. They did not call a doctor. They did not send him to a hospital. He died after being
ignored by staff for two days, possibly more.
240. Like here, jail staff didn’t believe Mr. Lovern’s condition was serious, improperly
practiced outside their nursing scope and or were deliberately indifferent in their gatekeeper
duties, and assumed his complaints were not as serious as he was describing. Just like here,
ACDF staff did nothing more than observe a man who was dying.
241. The pattern at ACDF of not timely providing—or completely failing to provide—
adequate medical attention to inmates with serious and emergent medical symptoms shows that
Araphaoe County has a policy, practice, and custom, and along with CHC/CCS Defendants, have
trained ACDF nurses to take a wait-and-see approach to the provision of medical care, not transporting
seriously ill inmates for higher-level or acuity evaluation, and requiring them to prove they are not faking
their symptoms.
V. CLAIMS FOR RELIEF
FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 – 14th Amendment
Deliberately Indifferent Medical Care
(Plaintiff Estate against Defendant Robly Evans and Ruth Kyambadde)
242. Plaintiffs hereby incorporates all other paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set
forth herein.
243. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 provides that:
31
Every person, who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or
usage of any state or territory or the District of Columbia subjects or causes to be
subjected any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction
thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or immunities secured by the
constitution and law shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in
equity, or other appropriate proceeding for redress . . .
244. Jeffrey Scott Lillis was a citizen of the United States and Defendants to this claim
are persons for the purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
245. Mr. Lillis was a pre-trial detainee.
246. As a pre-trial detainee, Mr. Lillis was protected from deliberate indifference to his
known serious medical needs by the Fourteenth Amendment.
247. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, Mr. Lillis is also protected from conduct that
is not rationally related to a legitimate nonpunitive governmental purpose or actions that appear
excessive in relation to that purpose under Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 135 S. Ct. 2466, 2473
(2015).
248. To the extent he was under any conviction, Mr. Lillis was also protected from
deliberate indifference to his known serious medical needs by the Eighth Amendment.
249. Each Defendant hereto knew or should have known of these clearly established
rights at the time of Mr. Lillis’ death.
250. Each Defendant to this claim, at all times relevant hereto, was acting under color
of state law.
251. Defendants to this claim knew of and disregarded the excessive risks associated
with Mr. Lillis’ serious and life-threatening medical condition and nonetheless, with deliberate
indifference, decided not to report the severity of the symptoms or their ongoing nature, or obtain
a medical evaluation or necessary urgent medical care. They did so despite being expressly
32
aware of Plaintiff’s known serious medical needs and obvious need for the same, recklessly
disregarding a substantial risk of physical harm and death to Plaintiff.
252. When Mr. Lillis, and others acting on his behalf, alerted these Defendants to his
need for medical assistance, Defendants acted with deliberate indifference to his readily apparent
need for medical attention and his constitutional rights by refusing to obtain and provide the
appropriate medical treatment.
253. These Defendants acted with deliberate indifference to Mr. Lillis’ deteriorating
condition, including but not limited to, a severe cough producing blood; a persistent high
temperature, elevated pulse, low blood oxygen level; nausea and diarrhea; a change in mental
status; systemic illness; and obvious need for medical attention.
254. All of the deliberately indifferent acts of these Defendants were conducted within
the scope of their official duties and employment.
255. These Defendants’ failure to provide proper medical care to treat Mr. Lillis’
known serious medical needs was not rationally related to a legitimate non-punitive
governmental purpose.
256. The acts or omissions of these Defendants were the legal and proximate cause of
Mr. Lillis’ death.
257. As a direct result of these Defendants’ unlawful conduct, Mr. Lillis suffered
extreme physical and mental pain and suffering for days, including the violent pain and trauma
he experienced at the moments of his death.
33
258. These intentional actions and inactions of these Defendants as described herein
intentionally deprived Mr. Lillis of due process and of rights, privileges and liberties secured by
the Constitution of the United States of America causing him and his estate damages.
259. As a proximate result of these Defendants’ unlawful conduct, Plaintiff Estate has
suffered injuries and losses, including the death of Mr. Lillis, entitling it to recover his
compensatory and special damages, including for loss of constitutional rights, loss of enjoyment
of life, and his herein described horrific and terrifying pain and suffering during and leading up
to this fatal event, permanent lost earnings and earnings capacity for the expected productive
working lifetime of Mr. Lillis, who worked as an arborist, under the mortality tables and other
special damages, all in amounts to be proven at trial.
260. Plaintiffs are entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C.§1988, pre-
judgment interest and costs as allowable by federal law.
261. In addition to compensatory, economic, consequential and special damages,
Plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages against these Defendants, in that their actions were
taken maliciously, willfully or with a reckless or wanton disregard of the constitutional rights of
Plaintiff.
SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Deliberately Indifferent Policies
(Plaintiff Estate against Defendants Board of County Commissioners of Arapahoe County and
David C. Walcher in his Official Capacity)
262. Plaintiffs hereby incorporate all other paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set
forth herein.
263. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 provides that:
34
Every person, who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or
usage of any state or territory or the District of Columbia subjects or causes to be
subjected any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction
thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or immunities secured by the
constitution and law shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in
equity, or other appropriate proceeding for redress . . .
264. Mr. Lillis was a citizen of the United States and the entity Defendants to this
claim are persons for the purposes of 42 U.S.C. §1983.
265. Mr. Lillis was a pre-trial detainee.
266. As a pre-trial detainee, Mr. Lillis was protected from deliberate indifference to his
known serious medical needs by the Fourteenth Amendment.
267. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, Mr. Lillis is also protected from conduct that
is not rationally related to a legitimate nonpunitive governmental purpose or actions that appear
excessive in relation to that purpose under Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 135 S. Ct. 2466, 2473
(2015).
268. To the extent he was under any conviction, Mr. Lillis was also protected from
deliberate indifference to his known serious medical needs by the Eighth Amendment.
269. Arapahoe County, at all times relevant hereto, was acting under the color of state
law.
270. Arapahoe County is liable for its deliberately indifferent policies that were
moving forces in Mr. Lillis’ constitutional injury, for its deliberately indifferent training and
supervision of nurses, for its own role in setting policy regarding medical care at the jail, and for
its ongoing toleration and/or ratification of the widespread pattern and practice of deliberate
indifference. Arapahoe County has a pattern of deliberately indifferent medical care in ACDF,
which includes: refusing to let inmates be seen by higher level medical providers, even when
35
obviously necessary to prevent serious injury or death; choosing to not pay medical providers for
sufficient hours to see inmates that have been removed from general population due to sickness,
in part to save money; refusing to allow inmates access to needed medical evaluations offsite, in
part to save money; allowing nurses to diagnose serious medical conditions outside their nursing
scope and not call doctors; and, a widespread custom and tolerated practice and habit of treating
all inmate or detainee illnesses as faked or not serious until an inmate/detainee can prove
otherwise, often to save money on providers and testing.
271. Arapahoe County’s deliberately indifferent policies, failures to train and/or
supervise, were moving forces in the violation of Mr. Lillis’ constitutional rights.
272. Arapahoe County was on notice that their deliberate indifference would result and
had resulted in a pattern of not providing desperately needed care to inmates with serious
medical needs causing injury and death, or, alternatively, Araphaoe County’s above-described
policies and lack of training and supervision was so likely to cause the type of harm that
occurred here, it was obvious to Arapahoe County that such policies and lack of training and
supervision was likely to cause such harm.
273. The failures in training and supervision were so obvious that the failure to provide
the same was deliberately indifferent to the rights of the relevant public and a moving force in
the complained of injuries and death of Mr. Lillis.
274. Arapahoe County, through policy makers and final delegated decision-makers,
ratified their employees’ and subordinates’ unconstitutional conduct by approving their decisions
and the basis for them, including ongoing toleration of the known widespread culture of ignoring
inmates’ serious medical conditions, in part to save money.
36
275. Arapahoe County’s policies, practices, habits, customs, widespread usages, and
lack of training and supervision that resulted in the failure to provide proper medical care to treat
Mr. Lillis’ known serious medical needs were not rationally related to a legitimate nonpunitive
governmental purpose, or were excessive in relation to that purpose.
276. As a proximate result of Defendant’s unlawful conduct, Plaintiff Estate has
suffered injuries and losses, including the death of Mr. Lillis, entitling it to recover his
compensatory and special damages, including for loss of constitutional rights, loss of enjoyment
of life, and his herein described horrific and terrifying pain and suffering during and leading up
this fatal event, permanent lost earnings and earnings capacity for the expected productive
working lifetime of Mr. Lillis under the mortality tables and other special damages, all in
amounts to be proven at trial.
277. Plaintiffs are entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C.§1988, pre-
judgment interest and costs as allowable by federal law.
THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Wrongful Death
(Plaintiffs Meghan Lillis, CAL, CSL, AL, Jordan Lillis and Ashley Perry against CHC/CCS
Defendants, Maxim, Dr. Furr, Nurse Evans and Nurse Elwell)
278. Plaintiffs hereby incorporate all other paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set
forth herein.
279. CHC/CCS Defendants and Maxim are private corporations that contract with
Arapahoe County to provide medical care and health services to inmates at the ACDF.
280. Defendants Furr, Evans and Elwell are private individuals, and not public officials
or employees.
281. These Defendants are therefore not entitled to any immunity under the CGIA.
37
282. At all times relevant to this action, Mr. Lillis was under the medical
responsibility, care, and treatment of Defendants hereto.
283. Defendants Furr, Evans, Elwell and other private nurse care providers had a duty
to provide reasonable medical care and treatment to detainees at the ACDF, including Mr. Lillis.
284. Maxim is vicariously liable for the negligent acts and omissions by their agents
and/or employees, including, but not limited to, Defendants Evans and Elwell.
285. CHC/CCS had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the training of nurses at
ACDF and implement adequate policies to provide reasonable medical care.
286. CHC/CCS Defendants breached their duty to exercise reasonable care in the
training of nurses working at ACDF in a manner that provided the detainees under their care with
reasonable medical care and treatment.
287. CHC/CCS Defendants knew or should have known that the lack of training,
staffing, and reasonable protocols was likely to harm ACDF detainees in need of medical care,
including Mr. Lillis.
288. In failing to exercise reasonable care in the training of nurses working at ACDF as
it relates to their providing reasonable medical care and treatment, CHC/CCS Defendants were
negligent and proximately caused Mr. Lillis death.
289. Through their actions and omissions, Defendants Furr, Evans, Elwell and other
care providers breached their duty of care when they knowingly failed to properly assess,
monitor, treat and care for Mr. Lillis, despite that fact that he was in obvious need of immediate
medical attention.
38
290. These duties of care are informed by state law. Under C.R.S. § 16-3-401,
“prisoners arrests or in custody shall be treated humanely and provided with adequate food,
shelter, and, if required, medical treatment.” The provision of adequate medical treatment and
humane care is a statutory obligation.
291. Defendants Furr, Evans, and Elwell had doctor-patient or nurse-patient
relationships with Mr. Lillis at all relevant times and were acting within the scope of their
employment throughout the duration of these relationships.
292. With respect to their care and treatment of Mr. Lillis, Defendants Furr, Evans and
Elwell owed him a duty to exercise the degree of care, skill, caution, diligence, and foresight
exercised by and expected of medical personnel in similar situations. Defendants Furr, Evans
and Elwell breached their respective standards of care and were negligent in failing to properly
assess, monitor, treat, and care for Mr. Lillis.
293. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants Furr, Evans and Elwell having
breached their duty to provide reasonable medical care and treatment to Mr. Lillis, he suffered
significant physical and mental pain and suffering, and other damages, and ultimately died.
294. The negligent acts and omissions by these Defendants were a substantial and
significant contributing proximate cause of the death of Mr. Lillis.
295. As a result of the complained of negligence, Plaintiffs hereto have suffered
damages, losses and injuries in an amount to be determined by the jury at trial. These damages
include, inter alia, pain and suffering, upset, grief, loss of society and companionship, anger,
depression, and all other purely non-economic damages as allowed under the Colorado Wrongful
Death Act.
39
296. Plaintiffs suffered and continue to suffer economic and non-economic damages
due to Defendants’ negligent conduct toward the husband/father of Plaintiffs, including, but not
limited to, funeral expenses and financial losses due to the financial benefits they would have
reasonably been expected to receive from their husband/father had he lived, and non-economic
damages for grief, loss of their husband/father’s companionship, impairment in the quality of
their lives, inconvenience, pain and suffering, and extreme emotional distress. Plaintiffs hereto
are therefore entitled to general and compensatory damages for such pain and suffering and
emotional distress and to special damages.
297. Defendants’ conduct was attended by circumstances of malice, or willful and
wanton conduct, which Defendants must have realized was dangerous, or that was done
recklessly, without regards to the consequences to Mr. Lillis and the Plaintiffs.
298. Defendants consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that they
knew or should have known would cause the death of another.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
Plaintiffs pray that this Court enter judgment for the Plaintiffs and against each of the
Defendants and enter the following relief:
(a) All appropriate relief at law and equity;
(b) Economic losses on all claims allowed by law;
(c) Compensatory and consequential damages, including damages for emotional
distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and other pain and suffering on all claims allowed by
law in an amount to be determined at trial;
40
(d) Punitive damages on all claims allowed by law and in an amount to be determined
at trial;
(e) Attorneys’ fees and costs associated with this action, including expert witness
fees, on all claims allowed by law;
(f) Pre- and post-judgment interest at the highest lawful rate; and
(g) Any further relief that this Court deems just and proper.
PLAINTIFFS RESPECTFULLY REQUEST TRIAL BY JURY.
Respectfully submitted this 27th day of April, 2018.
/s/ Erica T. Grossman /s/ David Lane

Erica T. Grossman David Lane
Anna Holland Edwards Liana Orshan
John R. Holland Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP
Dan Weiss 1543 Champa Street, Suite 400
Holland, Holland Edwards & Grossman, PC Denver, CO 80202
1437 High Street [email protected]
Denver, CO 80218 [email protected]
[email protected] Phone: (303) 571-1000
[email protected] Fax: (303) 571-1001
[email protected] Counsel for Meghan Lillis
[email protected]
Phone: (303) 860-1331
Fax: (303) 832-6506
Counsel for C.S.L., C.A.L, A.L., Jordan Lillis
and Ashley Perry
CERTIFICATE OF REVIEW
This is to certify that undersigned counsel has conferred, pursuant to Colorado statutes,
with a person who has extensive expertise in the areas of alleged negligence and deliberate
indifference to serious medical needs and that this professional has reviewed the known facts,
including such records, documents, and other materials as he has found to be relevant to the
41
complaint allegations of negligent acts and omissions, and has concluded that the filing of these
claims do not lack substantial justification and in fact are substantially meritorious and involve
clear violations of the standards of care involved.
/s/ Erica T. Grossman

Erica T. Grossman
42

Estate of Jeffrey Scott Lillis v. Correct Care Solutions LLC, Et. Al.

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Case 1:16-cv-03038-KLM Document 91-1 Filed 04/27/18 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 42

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Civil Action No. 16-cv-3038

THE ESTATE OF JEFFREY SCOTT LILLIS,

CORRECT CARE SOLUTIONS, LLC;

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND

Plaintiffs, by and through their attorneys of HOLLAND, HOLLAND EDWARDS &

request a trial by jury as follows:

known serious medical needs and negligence by Defendants.

medical attention and treatment.

his body for days until it finally shut down.

own blood and vomit.

II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

omissions occurred and in which Defendants maintain offices and/or reside.

7. Supplemental pendent jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. §1367 because the

common nucleus of operative facts.

the State of Colorado and a citizen of the United States of America.

through her mother Robin Booth.

United States of America. Plaintiff Jordan Lillis is a child of Jeffrey Lillis.

States of America. Plaintiff Ashley Perry is a child of Jeffrey Lillis.

17. Defendant Correctional Healthcare Companies, LLC (“CHC”) (formerly

services for Arapahoe County at ACDF.

18. Defendant Correct Care Solutions, LLC (“CCS”) is a Tennessee corporation

this case and to be part of the contract with Arapahoe County.

19. Defendant Correctional Healthcare Physicians, P.C. (“CHP”) is a Colorado

Defendant Dr. Furr.

the “CHC/CCS Defendants.”

entitled to any immunity under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act.

24. Defendant Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc (“Maxim”) is a Maryland corporation

and Denise Elwell.

Governmental Immunity Act.

Detention Facility located at 7375 S. Potomac St., Centennial CO, 80112.

detained at the ACDF.

United States and a resident of Colorado.

Maxim and acting under color of state law.

of Arapahoe County and acting under color of state law.

IV. STATEMENT OF FACTS

December 14, 2014 of sepsis caused by untreated bacterial pneumonia.

nauseous and coughing a lot.

41. There was no response to the December 11th Kite.

43. He told Paula Bertram, LPN, that he was sick.

102.9 at 7:56 a.m. on December 12, 2014.

was “aching all over” and “coughing.”

46. Nurse Bertram initiated an “Influenza-Like-Illness” and Respiratory Infection

medical help and the deputy said he would ask medical.

of 93% oxygen saturated hemoglobin relative to total hemoglobin in the blood.

“red” and his cough was “dry.”

61. These symptoms require doctor evaluation.

66. Mr. Lillis had a very high temperature of 103.1.

respiration, or oxygenation readings were taken.

respiration of 26, temperature of 98.8. He had a reported pulse ox of 98%.

requires immediate medical evaluation.

blood pressure reading.

77. Agitation is a sign of hypoxia and sepsis.

things, they are symptoms of pneumonia.

higher level medical evaluation and a chest x-ray.

evaluation despite obvious signs of a worsening serious infection.

Mr. Lillis’s death.