EL PASO COUNTY — A former inmate is suing El Paso County after he said staff at the El Paso County jail denied him his prescribed chemotherapy medication.
According to the federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Stuart McLaney has chronic myeloid leukemia and is prescribed a daily chemotherapy pill to keep his cancer from progressing and becoming life-threatening.
Court documents show McLaney was booked into the El Paso County Jail in March 2023 on felony drug offenses. The lawsuit said during the four months McLaney was in jail, he never received his chemotherapy medication despite multiple pleas to deputies and jail medical providers.
The lawsuit was filed against El Paso County, Wellpath, the jail's former medical provider, Wellpath's parent company, El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal, four sheriff's deputies, and six medical providers.
The document said McLaney was booked into the jail on March 23, 2023 and he notified a deputy and a jail medical provider that he needed to take his chemotherapy pill, along with other medication. The lawsuit said McLaney signed all necessary forms for jail staff to receive his treatment plan from his doctor at the Memorial Oncology Center. The lawsuit said neither the deputy nor the medical provider followed up with McLaney to make sure he got his medication.
"When he entered the El Paso County Criminal Justice system, he pleaded with sheriff's deputies and nurses for that daily medication, and they refused time and time again to provide him with it, even when he told them, 'I'm in a lot of pain, I can feel my limbs swelling,'" said Madeline Leibin, an attorney for McLaney.
In one instance, while McLaney was waiting in the hall, the lawsuit said he overheard an unidentified Wellpath provider discussing his treatment and saying it was just too expensive. The lawsuit said that on another occasion, a jail medical provider told McLaney there was an insurance problem and his medication might require special monitoring that jail staff could not provide.
"This is yet another example, and a horrifying one, of El Paso County and Wellpath choosing profits over people," said Leibin.
His attorney said McLaney began taking the medication again after he was released in July 2023 but was told the time without his treatment had harmed his life expectancy.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office told News5 it could not comment on active litigation. Wellpath told News5 the same thing.
In 2024, the sheriff's office cut ties with Wellpath and started a new contract with VitalCore Health Strategies to provide medical care inside the jail. Wellpath provided services from Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2023. Deputies did not say exactly why the jail moved on from Wellpath. Sheriff Joe Roybal released a 2-minute video last year about the switch in providers, where he said the following:
"Unfortunately, the majority of those housed in our jail have prior existing undertreated or undiagnosed medical issues, such as drug addictions or chronic mental health issues, which require an extra level of care while in our custody. It was vital for us to find a medical provider who had the experience and capability to address these unique needs and adapt to our rapidly changing population,"
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