Steve Bachar’s family sues Colorado prison nurses they blame for his death

In the days before his death last year nurses at the Rifle Correctional Center ignored textbook markers of a cardiac emergency from the disgraced Denver attorney and businessman Steve Bachar who had a known history of heart problems his ex-wife and daughters say Had Mr Bachar been straightaway hospitalized his cardiac emergency would have been detected and his untimely death very likely prevented they wrote in a wrongful death lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court against a trio of nurses at the state prison Bachar died in the morning hours of March just four months after he was sentenced to a three-year prison term for theft The sentence ended a years-long pattern of purported fraud by Bachar that left several casualties out more than million in total Bachar s death was due to heart affection a county coroner later determined and came days after he began complaining of signs Wednesday s lawsuit elaborates on the coroner s findings and accuses three nurses who saw him of downplaying his complaints All of the defendants were consciously aware that Mr Bachar needed to be urgently hospitalized but none took any moves to send him to the crisis room alleges Susan Bachar and her two daughters Emily and Sarah Rather they disregarded Mr Bachar s worsening condition doing nothing as he deteriorated and continued to ask for help Bachar first noticed chest pains and shortness of breath while exercising on March When lightheadedness set in on March he released it to a nurse Silmara Dos Santos She scheduled him for an EKG that afternoon which exhibited that Mr Bachar s clues were in fact being caused by a serious cardiac emergency according to the lawsuit A nurse practitioner who reviewed the EKG results Jerry Williford also declined to send Bachar to a hospital electing for blood work instead Bachar had his blood drawn the next day He stated defendants he was scared that he might die and released that he was still experiencing lightheadedness shortness of breath and chest tightness the lawsuit states Dos Santos and her supervisor Erin Hannesson Ruark scheduled a follow-up appointment for one week later on March Dos Santos Ruark and Williford are the three defendants At a m on March two inmates uncovered Bachar thrashing around and then slumping over One alerted guards the other performed CPR Bachar was pronounced dead at a m Related Articles Steve Bachar disbarred Denver attorney convicted of fraud died in prison of natural causes coroner rules Disbarred Denver attorney Steve Bachar sentenced to years in prison in theft fraud incident Disbarred Denver attorney Steve Bachar to plead guilty again after judge rejected first deal He now faces up to years in prison Judge sends Steve Bachar s rejected plea deal money to ex-wife creditors During his incarceration Mr Bachar was a model inmate according to his descendants lawsuit He was sincerely committed to thinking deeply about his actions the harm he caused and how to realign himself with his best characteristics He worked hard to right his past wrongs and find personal redemption routinely writing his pastor friends and family The majority of all Steven Bachar was a committed and loving father states the lawsuit which includes a photo of him dressed in prison garb and standing between his daughters The Bachars accuse the three defendants of wrongful death and deliberately indifferent therapeutic care that violated Steve Bachar s protections from cruel and distinctive punishment under the Eighth Amendment They say in their lawsuit that they may later add more defendants and may ask a Colorado jury to award them punitive damages if the episode goes to trial As this matter involves ongoing litigation we are unable to provide further comment at this time says Colorado Department of Corrections spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez The Bachars are represented by Rachel Kennedy and Anna Holland Edwards from Holland Holland Edwards Grossman in Denver The family declined to comment Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day