Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

Re: criminal medical rights

Welcome to the real world of jails and jailers. Your daughter's plight is a common one--an aspect of incarceration that most people never seem to consider. Technically, the county owes a duty to keep safe those in its charge, and that includes providing reasonably necessary medical care. What is "reasonably necessary" though is a judgment call. One that is initially made by the MD in charge of prisoners at a jail. Typically, however, the people running the jails are not particularly competent, and the doctors they hire are less than the best; indeed, sometimes they're the worst doctors out there. The county and the doctor are taking some risk of liability though, for failing to care for her condition--if she were to suffer injury or die. But after-the-fact liability is little consolation, I know. You want to stop the neglect and get her the medicine she needs *before* something terrible happens. If I were you, I would secure previous medical diagnoses of her epilepsy, and then send copies to both the doctor in charge of her (who has a license to lose) and the sheriff who runs the jail. Scare the doc into doing what he is supposed to. Scare the Sheriff into making the doc do his job. Put them on notice of all salient facts and demand action. Summarize all that has transpired before, to show how unreasonable they have been (like refusing to allow you to provide her medicine). Such a letter could be very useful later if you do get in a lawsuit. (Failure to deny your allegations can be taken as admitting them to be true). If you still don't get action, go to the state medical board and file a complaint on the doctor, and consider hiring counsel to sue the doctor and the county for medical malpractice. Unfortunately, you could not do the suing, your daughter would have to be the plaintiff, though you could fund the suit for her. Good luck.