Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Father Had Heart Attack & Died Due To Medical Treatment In Jail
My father a few years ago
was being held on charges in jail
which he was innocent of, he was a
diabetic and against his wishes
was being given insulin injections
which he had not previously taken
and while waiting to be transferred
to another jail, which took most of
the day his blood sugar crashed
and they would not give him any
food to correct it, so he suffered a
massive heart attack due to their
irresponsible medical treatment. On
the way to his last hearing, a few
months later, before he was to be
cleared of the charges he made an
illegal left turn and suffered a fatal
heart attack due to the stress of
being pulled over by an officer.
Which was right in front of the court
house. If we had the medical
records/transfer records from jail
would we have a case against the
jail to sue for damages relating to
his death? Its a very painful thing
for us to have to relive, so we
aren't sure if we
want to go through a long process.
Would an attorney represent us for
a percentage of any settlement
won instead of an up-front fee? He
supported my mother and myself,
we were left with nothing when he
passed, would the award be
enough to help my mother buy a
home?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Father Had Heart Attack & Died Due To Medical Treatment In Jail
Thank you for your inquiry, and I am sorry to hear about your father's passing. To be frank, a case like yours would be very difficult.
California has a Government Tort Claims Act that grants immunity for certain official duties, but more importantly, sets up a strict six month statute of limitations to bring a claim before filing a lawsuit. Although exact dates are not in your posting, I get the impression that the negligence here occurred longer than six months ago.
Attorneys that handle cases under the Government Tort Claims Act sometimes can and will take cases on a contingency basis, and I think you should sit down with an attorney in this specific field of law and see what your options might be, rather than just rely on my general opinion here. But I fear that the bigger issue is that it might be too late to sue in this case.
All the best to you.
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