Avery Borkovec
Avery James Borkovec was 22 years old when he died on November 3, 2022, while held at the Boulder County Jail in Colorado. His great-uncle, Chris Borkovec, said that Avery was a young man who deserved to be treated with care and concern, and witnesses described him as visibly declining in the weeks before his death. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office said an autopsy found sepsis from a bacterial infection, with cardiovascular disease and chronic substance abuse as contributing conditions. A September 2024 lawsuit brought by his brother and uncle on behalf of his estate says he had a treatable staph bloodstream infection, was repeatedly denied hospital care for about a month, and that staff misread his symptoms in his final hours. The sheriff's office has said it will respond to the allegations in court.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The sheriff's office says an autopsy found sepsis from a bacterial infection, while his estate's lawsuit says jail medical staff repeatedly denied him hospital care and ignored his worsening symptoms for weeks, despite a treatable infection.
Reported by: Boulder County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); his estate's lawsuit, filed by his brother and uncle (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His estate sued jail medical staff and earlier Broomfield authorities in September 2024, alleging they failed to treat a known bloodstream infection before he died.