Hidalgo County Jail Inmate Juan Guerra Dies

Silhouette of barbed wires and watchtower of prison.

Juan Andres Guerra was booked into Hidalgo County Jail in Edinburg, Texas, on March 18, 2024. Approximately 3 months later, on June 24, he died in the jail’s custody. The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department filed a custodial death report (CDR) about Mr. Guerra on the same day. The CDR shows that at 12:45 am that day, he was discovered unresponsive in his bunk in the jail infirmary. After lifesaving efforts began, he was transported to the Edinburg Regional Medical Center, which was the location of the pronouncement of his death.

Jail medical records show that Mr. Guerra had been suffering from high blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease. A Justice of the Peace ordered that an autopsy be performed. Mr. Guerra was only 58 years old at the time of his death.

Hidalgo County Jail aka Hidalgo County Detention Center is at 701 El Cibolo Road in Edinburg, TX 78541. The jail’s bed capacity is 1,232.

A County Jail is Questioned About Possible Medical Neglect After an Inmate’s Death

For two days, a detainee in a U.S. county jail did not receive his daily anti-rejection medication, which was required because his heart was rejecting his new organ from a heart transplant. The man was released from the jail’s custody, and he died three days later. According to a private pathologist hired by the family of the deceased, his death resulted from his body rejecting the heart. However, the pathologist did not make a statement to confirm or deny that the two days in jail without his medications contributed to his death.

In the state where this man died, public agencies are prohibited from signing contracts with companies convicted of a public entity crime. Considering this, investigations into this recent incident led to an alarming discovery. The third-party medical provider involved in this case had failed to report to the state that after an inmate had died in late 2022 in another state, the company was convicted of a public entity crime in connection with the death.

Records show that the same medical provider, between 2005 and 2018, has been sued at least 370 times in federal courts. The accusations made against the company include wrongful death, medical malpractice, and employment issues. In the six years since the medical provider has been at the county jail where the man did not receive his anti-rejection medication, the jail saw a 71% increase in custodial deaths compared to the seven years prior to their contract.

Help for Jail Neglect Victims is Available

Detainees in Texas county jails have a right to receive necessary medical, mental, and dental care. Every year, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) receives more complaints about medical care than any other issue. TCJS is responsible for establishing minimum jail standards and ensuring that jails aren’t violating those standards.

Jails can be held accountable for violating inmate rights. If your loved one died while incarcerated in a county or municipal Texas jail and you think jail neglect of some kind may have been involved, don’t hesitate to act. The Law Offices of Dean Malone has years of experience fighting for inmates’ rights. We have a team of experts working together to represent families in jail death cases. We would also like to hear from you if you were incarcerated in a jail and, while there, suffered a life-altering injury because of jail abuse or neglect.

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