Jason Colebaugh
Jason Colebaugh, 40, was a Type 1 diabetic held at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, Vermont. His family's wrongful death lawsuit, filed by his mother Lisa Steadman, says that in March 2025 low blood sugar caused a seizure and a fall from the top bunk in his cell, and that the impact caused a fatal brain bleed. The suit alleges the state and its health care contractor Wellpath did not properly treat his diabetes and did not assign him a bottom bunk despite his seizure risk. He was taken to hospitals in Vermont and New Hampshire and died in April 2025. The Department of Corrections has declined to comment on the pending litigation, so the claims have not been answered by the agency.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). His mother Lisa Steadman and her lawyer David Rankin say staff failed to treat his diabetes and did not move him to a bottom bunk, so a hypoglycemic seizure caused a fall from the top bunk and a fatal head injury, while the Department of Corrections has declined to comment on the litigation.
Reported by: Lisa Steadman (mother) and attorney David Rankin, in a civil lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Vermont Department of Corrections (the agency that held him).
Lawsuit: His mother, Lisa Steadman, filed a wrongful death lawsuit over his death, alleging that the Vermont Department of Corrections and its healthcare contractor Wellpath failed to treat his diabetes, and the litigation is pending.