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Yes. If your loved one died while in custody — whether in a county jail, state prison, or federal detention facility — you may have grounds for a civil rights lawsuit. The government has a constitutional duty to protect the people in its custody. When jails or prisons fail to provide adequate medical care, psychiatric treatment, or protection from violence, and a person dies as a result, surviving family members can pursue a wrongful death and civil rights claim under federal and California law.

Gastélum Law has handled numerous cases involving deaths in LA County jails and other California detention facilities. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss what happened to your loved one.

The most common causes of preventable death in California jails include:

Jail suicide — failure to monitor or treat inmates classified as suicide risks

Drug overdose — failure to provide medical detox or monitor withdrawal

Inmate-on-inmate violence — housing a vulnerable person near known violent inmates

Use of excessive force by custody staff

Denial or delay of medical care for a serious condition

Failure to provide psychiatric medication or mental health treatment

If any of these circumstances apply to your loved one’s death, you should speak with an attorney as soon as possible.

A jail suicide lawsuit is a civil rights claim filed when an incarcerated person takes their own life due to the jail’s failure to properly monitor, assess, or treat them. Under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, jails have a legal obligation to provide mental health care and to protect inmates from known risks — including the risk of self-harm.

To bring a successful jail suicide claim, an attorney must typically show that the jail knew (or should have known) of the inmate’s suicide risk and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the death. Gastélum Law has secured multi-million dollar settlements in jail suicide cases in California.

Time limits are critical in jail and prison death cases. In California:

You must file a government tort claim with the relevant county or agency within 6 months of the date of death.

After the claim is rejected or 45 days pass, you typically have 6 months to file a lawsuit in court.

Federal civil rights claims (Section 1983) generally have a 2-year statute of limitations.

Missing these deadlines means you permanently lose your right to sue. Contact Gastélum Law immediately if you believe your loved one’s death was preventable.