Wellpath and VitalCore Skip Paying Nearly $2 Million in Settlements in South Carolina
In October 2024, Wellpath—a private for-profit contractor that provides medical care in prisons and jails—was ordered to pay a $1.5 million settlement it entered in a lawsuit alleging that one of the company’s nurses performed “unnecessary and inappropriate” vaginal exams on detainees at South Carolina’s Berkeley County Detention Center between June 2017 and 2018.
The suit, filed in state court on behalf of eight former detainees, raised claims of negligence and medical malpractice. It also noted that the nurse, Alexander Lluvera, had remained employed despite jail officials having knowledge of his alleged sexual misconduct.
In agreeing to settle in July 2024, Wellpath said that it would remit the $1.5 million payment in two installments; however, it missed making the first $750,000 payment on October 1, 2024, leading Circuit Court Judge Jennifer McCoy to issue a settlement enforcement order on October 29, 2024, giving the firm 15 days to pay the entire amount. See: Clark v. Berkeley Cty. Sheriff’s Off., S.C. 9th Jud. Cir. (Berkeley Cty.), Case No. 2019-CP-08-01391
As PLN reported, Wellpath declared bankruptcy in December 2024 and announced a settlement had been reached with its creditors in April 2025. [See: PLN, May 2025, p.56.] The status of its payment in this case was unclear.
In a similar case, VitalCore—another for-profit correctional healthcare provider—has been sued for failing to pay medical expenses for a prisoner injured at Charleston County’s Al Cannon Detention Center. Wellpath was the healthcare contractor at that lockup when the mentally ill prisoner, identified as John Doe, struck his head on a metal cell door several times in June 2021. Doe suffered a spinal cord injury resulting in incomplete tetraplegia. After required surgery, he now “has limited ability to move his hands and legs, is unable to walk, incontinent and requires intensive care,” according to a news report.
Wellpath’s contract at the jail ended in 2023, and it was subsequently replaced with VitalCore. Doe was transferred to the Columbia Regional Care Center, operated by Correct Care of South Carolina. According to a complaint that firm filed, Vital Core agreed to pay “all costs associated with the treatment, transportation, and stay of John Doe” at the medical center. But Vital Core allegedly failed to make those payments, which totaled $414,516.46 as of January 2025. Charleston County and the Office of its Sheriff, currently held by Carl Ritchie, were also named as defendants in the suit.
“There are legitimate disputes surrounding our responsibility for payment of the bill,” VitalCore executive Timothy E. Keck said in a statement, declining further comment.
Additional sources: Charleston Post & Courier, WCSC
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Related legal case
Clark v. Berkeley Cty. Sheriff's Off.
| Year | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Cite | S.C. 9th Jud. Cir. (Berkeley Cty.), Case No. 2019-CP-08-01391 |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |