Judge Dismisses Jail Health Provider From Inmate Death Lawsuit

Barbara Stillwell arrived at Lane County Jail on the morning of Feb. 7, 2023, following a court hearing on a probation violation. She was 59 years old, sober when she entered custody, and dead the next day. Her husband Perry Stillwell's lawsuit alleges she obtained fentanyl and methamphetamine while inside her booking-area cell and overdosed there while in custody.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken dismissed Wellpath LLC, the jail's contracted health care provider, from that wrongful-death lawsuit on March 13, clearing the company from a case that continues against Lane County and several of its employees. The dismissal came in response to a motion Wellpath's attorneys filed last August, months after the company filed for bankruptcy in 2024 following a series of wrongful-death lawsuits alleging inadequate care at facilities across the country.

The $5 million lawsuit names Lane County, individuals with the Lane County Sheriff's Office, a doctor, and two nurses who allegedly provided care to Stillwell. It also names several top Sheriff's Office employees who, according to the complaint, were aware of systemic problems at the jail but failed to address them. The suit accuses Wellpath of "delay and denial of essential care" and accuses the county of failing to keep drugs out of the facility and failing to train staff to recognize signs of drug use or overdose.

"Lane County's failures to provide a drug-free environment and provide the necessary treatment and care and proper monitoring to keep Mrs. Stillwell safe took her life," the lawsuit states.

Stillwell had previously struggled with addiction but was sober when she entered custody, according to the complaint. She had been booked following a hearing connected to a 2021 conviction for delivering heroin.

Wellpath, which operates in 37 states and provides care to roughly 200,000 patients daily, held a contract with Lane County to provide medical, dental and mental health services at the jail. Sgt. Tim Wallace, a spokesperson for the Lane County Sheriff's Office, declined to comment due to ongoing litigation. Louren Oliveros, the attorney representing Perry Stillwell, did not respond to a request for comment, and multiple Wellpath representatives also did not respond.

The Stillwell lawsuit is not the first time Wellpath has faced legal scrutiny in Lane County. In a separate case, a woman sued Wellpath and two of its employees for $18 million after her husband, 36-year-old Landon Payne, died following his arrest by Eugene police on March 27, 2020. That suit alleged Wellpath nurses failed to properly implement COVID-19 protocols and that more than nine minutes passed between when Payne stopped breathing and when staff used a bag valve mask to provide ventilation. A federal judge ruled in December 2024 that an excessive-force case connected to that incident could proceed to trial.

Wellpath's legal troubles extend beyond Oregon. Federal judges have found, on at least three occasions, that the company wrongfully deleted emails connected to in-custody deaths in the Pacific Northwest. OPB reported those findings in October 2024, with criminal justice reporter Conrad Wilson describing Wellpath as operating in at least 10 correctional facilities across Oregon and Washington, including the Douglas County jail.

Lane County's reliance on private correctional health contractors predates Wellpath. The county contracted with Tennessee-based Corizon Health in 2012, terminated that arrangement in mid-2015, and faced a $7 million settlement paid by Corizon to the family of Kelly Conrad Green II, who died after Corizon staff misdiagnosed his condition following a 2013 booking.

With Wellpath now dismissed, Perry Stillwell's lawsuit moves forward against Lane County and the remaining individual defendants.