Miguel Angel Garcia Dies After Being in Hidalgo County, Texas Jail

The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s department, in Edinburg, TX, filed a report regarding the death of Miguel Angel Garcia. Mr. Garcia was only 47 years old at the time of his death. We provide in this post information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

The report indicates that Mr. Garcia was originally incarcerated in the Hidalgo County jail on June 11, 2022. It further indicates that he passed away on September 5, 2022, at 5:17 p.m. The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On 09/04/2022 at 10:43 am, Inmate was found unresponsive but awake, transported to Edinburg Medical Center in Edinburg, Texas. Jail supervisor reported that the inmate had been diagnosed with severe cirrhosis of the liver and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. On 09/05/2022, inmate succumbed to his ailments at 5:17 PM. Justice of the Peace ordered a complete autopsy.”

Therefore, the report provides no information about Mr. Garcia’s preexisting medical conditions, to the extent of any treatment for same, how often Mr. Garcia had been observed in his cell, and events leading up to his ultimate death.

The United States Constitution requires Texas county jails to provide medical care to detainees. If jailers are deliberately indifferent to medical needs of a detainee, and a detainee dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to file a lawsuit. These are typically referred to as civil rights cases, as they arise under the United States Constitution.

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.