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County of El Paso v. Dorado9/15/2005
This is an appeal from a jury verdict rendering judgment against the County of El Paso under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 arising from the death of Eduardo Miranda while he was incarcerated in the El Paso County jail. Appellant filed a motion for new trial which was overruled by operation of law. For the reasons stated, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and render judgment in favor of Appellant.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On July 25, 1997, Jessie Dorado ("Dorado"), in her individual capacity, as Mother and Next Friend of Brianna Alexis Miranda, and on behalf of the Estate of Eduardo Miranda a/k/a Eduardo Miranda Duarte ("Dr. Miranda"), deceased, sued the County of El Paso ("El Paso County"). Dorado alleged that the decedent died after he was denied access to his seizure medication following his arrest and subsequent detention in the El Paso County Detention Facility. Appellees sued for damages pursuant to the Texas Wrongful Death Act and the Survival Statute and for constitutional deprivations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Appellant filed a Plea to the Jurisdiction based upon the lack of applicability of the Wrongful Death Act to Counties. The trial court denied the plea and the County appealed. This Court reversed the judgment of the trial court and rendered judgment in favor of the County regarding the question of applicability of the wrongful death statute to counties.
Subsequently, Appellant filed a motion for summary judgment which was granted in part and denied in part. Appellant filed a second interlocutory appeal raising a question regarding qualified immunity of the nurses, which was denied. In May of 2003, trial was had to a jury on allegations of the violation of the constitutional rights of Eduardo Miranda under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Texas Tort Claims Act. The jury rendered a verdict against Appellees under the Texas Tort Claims Act, but in favor of Appellees for violation of Dr. Miranda's constitutional rights. The trial court entered judgment on June 16, 2003 in the amount of almost $5 million dollars in damages and attorney's fees. Appellant filed a motion for new trial which was overruled by operation of law. This appeal follows.
Dr. Miranda was arrested for outstanding traffic warrants on the evening of February 27, 1997. He was booked into the El Paso County Detention Center in the early hours of February 28, 1997. At the time of his booking, Dr. Miranda informed jail personnel he had a history of convulsions. He did not inform them, however, that he was under medication for the condition. In addition, Dr. Miranda made other false statements to the intake person during the booking process. Dr. Miranda indicated that he was unemployed and provided an incorrect address.
On March 1, 1997, Dr. Miranda told Nurse Juan Carlos Dominguez that he was under physician's orders to take two milligrams of Ativan each night to control his seizures. This information was also untruthful. Dr. Miranda was actually self prescribing a much higher dose of the medication. Nurse Dominguez in reliance on the information provided by Dr. Miranda, confirmed the prescription and contacted Dr. Harold Block, the jail physician, for further instructions. Dr. Harold Block gave orders to give Dr. Miranda his prescribed medications, which was done. The next night, March 2, 1997, Nurse Raul Tellez was responsible for administering Dr. Miranda's prescription. Nurse Tellez summoned Dr. Miranda around 8 p.m., but Dr. Miranda did not respond. As a result, he did not receive his prescribed medication. Around 11:30 p.m., Dr. Miranda suffered a seizure and Nurses Junette Davis and Vivian Perez responded to the medical assistance call. Nurse Davis stayed with Dr. Mir
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