30-Year-Old Galveston County, Texas Jail Inmate Dies of Apparent Dehydration

A prisoner in the Galveston County, Texas jail died on Thursday morning, March 14, 2019. Apparently, the inmate was only 30 years of age. Shockingly, it appears that he died of dehydration after being transported to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. We will post more information about what occurred as we obtain it.

We express no opinion as to what occurred in this situation, and we make no allegation that anyone did anything wrong. However, county jail inmates are entitled, by federal law, to receive reasonable medical care. If jail officers are aware that an inmate needs healthcare, and they decide not to provide it, then they can be liable to the inmate (or his or her family if the inmate dies). A county can also be held liable for a death occurring as a result of medical issues, if the county’s policies, practices, and/or customs caused, or were moving forces behind, the death. These causes of action are usually filed in federal court. The statute for bringing these constitutional violation claims is 42 U.S.C. Section 1983.

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.