San Diego Jail Injury Lawyer

Vaage Law > Practice Areas > San Diego Jail Injury Lawyer

Being behind bars doesn’t mean you give up your rights, especially when those rights are violated by the very people sworn to uphold them. Detainees and prisoners are especially vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and excessive force by law enforcement, correctional officers, or jail medical staff. If you or a loved one was injured while in custody or during an arrest, you may have a legal right to seek justice and compensation.

Many people don’t realize that civil rights protections exist separately from criminal law. These protections are designed to hold police departments, sheriff’s offices, and correctional institutions accountable when misconduct causes harm. Civil rights claims can arise from false arrest, excessive force, denial of medical care, inhumane conditions, and other violations of basic human dignity.

At Vaage Law, we understand how serious these cases are. Our team has successfully handled complex claims involving jail injuries, prisoner abuse, medical neglect, and more. For over 35 years, we’ve stood up for victims of injustice and secured more than $190 million on their behalf.

If your rights were violated by law enforcement or jail staff, contact Vaage Law at (619) 338-0505 or fill out our online form. Let our San Diego prison injury attorneys put our decades of experience and proven results to work for you.

Understanding the Crisis: San Diego Jail Injury Statistics

San Diego County’s jail system has unfortunately faced major scrutiny due to a high rate of deaths and serious injuries to inmates. When someone is taken into custody in San Diego, the law requires that the facility, whether it’s a county jail or state prison, must protect that person’s health and safety.

From 2006 to 2020, 185 people died in county-run detention centers. By 2023, that number had grown to around 250 deaths, with 13 people dying in custody just that year alone.

These deaths are often linked to:

• Medical neglect
• Mental health crises
• Drug overdoses
• Inadequate supervision

Over the past decade, San Diego County has had the highest inmate death rate among California’s six largest jail systems, based on data reported to the state’s Department of Justice. On average, about 12.8 people die each year while in custody, translating to a mortality rate of 246 per 100,000 inmates.

To put this into perspective, Los Angeles County, which runs a jail system nearly three times larger, reported a lower death rate of 158 per 100,000 inmates.

Tragic Cases Highlight the Need for Oversight and Legal Action

Just a few recent news stories from San Diego County jails tragically illustrate the ongoing problem. In one instance, a 55-year-old man died in the San Diego Central Jail in October 2025, becoming the ninth in-custody death that year. He died just two days after being booked for public intoxication. 

In another case in August 2025, an individual died in the San Diego Central Jail after deputies were notified he was in medical distress. These statistics and stories are a clear call for accountability, which is why having a dedicated San Diego jail injury lawyer to investigate these serious claims is so important.

Client Testimonial: Justice for a Son’s Brain Injury in Detention

Joe Collins shares his family’s experience working with Vaage Law after his son suffered a traumatic brain injury in a detention center.

Who Can Be Held Accountable in a San Diego Jail Injury Lawsuit?

When someone is behind bars, their life is quite literally in the hands of the system. That means if they’re seriously hurt, or worse, while in custody, the responsibility doesn’t just disappear. In fact, once a person is arrested, it’s the government’s legal duty to keep them safe, provide medical care, and protect their basic human rights.

So when something goes terribly wrong inside a jail or prison, Vaage Law finds out who failed them and who should be held responsible. The parties a San Diego jail injury lawyer may hold liable include:

• The County or City Government: In California, the city or county may be financially responsible if an injury or death occurs due to medical neglect, abuse, or other types of negligence by jail staff.
• The Sheriff’s Department and Deputies: For county jails in San Diego, the Sheriff’s Department manages the facilities. Sheriff’s deputies can be sued if they used unwarranted force or caused an injury through carelessness while an individual was in their custody.
• Correctional Staff: This includes guards, counselors, and other jail or prison employees whose negligence or deliberate actions led to an injury.
• Private Medical Staff: Many jails and prisons use private companies for healthcare. These medical providers, including doctors and nurses, can be held liable for injuries caused by medical malpractice or neglect.

Common Injuries in San Diego Jails and Prisons

Jails and prisons are supposed to be secure facilities, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe. Every year, people in custody suffer serious injuries, some due to violence, others because of dangerous conditions or neglect. At Vaage Law, we handle jail injury cases involving both physical harm and medical neglect, and we take these cases seriously.

Here are some of the most common injuries that occur in San Diego County detention facilities:

Injuries from Assault or Abuse

Unfortunately, violence is a real risk behind bars, whether it comes from another inmate or from correctional staff. These assaults can lead to severe injuries, including:

• Broken bones and fractures
• Skull fractures and head trauma
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• Knife wounds, stab injuries, and deep cuts
• Facial injuries, including broken noses and jaw fractures
• Internal bleeding or organ damage
• Bruising and soft tissue injuries from beatings

These injuries can be the result of:

• Fights between inmates
• Use of excessive force by guards or deputies
• Improper restraints or physical punishment

Medical Neglect and Unsafe Conditions

People in custody are entitled to basic medical care, but too often that care is delayed or denied. We’ve seen serious injuries and illnesses caused by:

• Untreated infections or sepsis
• Lack of medication for chronic conditions (like diabetes or epilepsy)
• Failure to respond to medical emergencies
• Delayed treatment for broken bones, wounds, or injuries
• Exposure to unsanitary conditions, leading to rashes, skin infections, or respiratory issues
• Mental health neglect, resulting in suicide or self-harm

Sexual Abuse and Assault in Jail

Whether it comes from another inmate or someone in a position of power, such as a corrections officer, it is never acceptable and should never be ignored. These cases are handled with the utmost sensitivity, discretion, and care. Survivors have reported:

• Rape or assault by guards or inmates
• Repeated harassment or coercion
• Assaults that occurred in isolated or unsupervised areas
• Retaliation or cover-ups when they tried to report the abuse

Should I Talk to a San Diego Jail Injury Attorney If My Rights Were Violated?

Yes. If your rights were violated while in custody, speaking with an experienced jail injury lawyer is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself.

These cases are rarely straightforward. Jails and detention facilities are operated by government agencies that are often protected by complex legal defenses and immunities. Filing a claim on your own can be overwhelming, especially when dealing with tight filing deadlines, administrative hurdles, or a lack of access to critical evidence like surveillance footage, internal reports, or medical records.

At Vaage Law, we have over 35 years of experience handling serious personal injury and civil rights cases, including those involving inmate abuse, neglect, and wrongful death. Our team understands how the jail system works and how to challenge it effectively.

If you or a loved one was harmed while incarcerated, we’re here to listen and guide you through your options. The consultation is free, and every conversation is confidential.

Call us today at (619) 338-0505 or fill out our online form to learn more about what a San Diego jail injury lawyer can do for your case. You don’t have to fight this system alone.

Types of Jail and Prison Violations Our San Diego Prison Injury Attorneys Handle

At Vaage Law, we handle a wide range of jail injury cases. In particular, we focus on cases involving unequal treatment in relation to law enforcement and the justice system. These include:

• False Arrest: Being arrested without proper legal justification, such as when an arrest is made without a valid warrant.
• Excessive Use of Force by Police: This often occurs during an arrest or in other situations where force is used unnecessarily and causes injury.
• Jail & Prison Abuse: For instance, if an inmate is denied proper medical care, or if they are physically or sexually abused by staff or other inmates.
• Sheriff Deputy or Prison Staff Negligence: This can cover a wide range of conduct, such as when a deputy carelessly injures a detainee due to not following proper safety protocols.
• Intentional Failure to Protect: When staff know a risk exists, like a violent cellmate or a suicidal inmate, but fail to take steps to protect the vulnerable person.

What Damages Are Available in a San Diego Jail Injury Lawsuit?

Every lawsuit is different and involves many factors, so it is difficult to project an average amount for damages in a civil rights/personal injury claim. However, an attorney can help the plaintiff in a civil rights lawsuit obtain compensation for losses such as:

• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Medical bills and injury costs
• Future medical care
• Pain and suffering damages
• Emotional distress damages

Long-term costs may also be factored in with cases involving severe injuries, such as those where catastrophic injury or traumatic brain injury resulted from the violation. In certain instances, wrongful death damages may also apply in cases where the victim of a civil rights violation lost their life.

A Martindale-Nolo study found that people who hired a personal injury attorney received over 4 times more compensation, averaging $77,600, compared to $17,600 for those who represented themselves.

At Vaage Law, we know how to push back against unfair offers. In one case involving negligence by San Diego County sheriff’s deputies and jail nurses, the County offered to settle for $500,000. We took the case to trial and secured a $12.6 million verdict. For his work on that case, Attorney Bob Vaage was recognized as an Outstanding Trial Attorney.

Why Choose Vaage Law for Your Jail Injury Case?

Not all law firms are built for this kind of fight, but we are.

At Vaage Law, we don’t just take on jail injury cases; we take them personally. For over 35 years, our team has stood up to powerful institutions, including law enforcement agencies, government entities, and large insurance companies, to demand justice for people who were harmed in their care.

These are not easy cases. They require skill, resources, and relentless preparation. Our firm has recovered more than $190 million for clients and is often brought in by other attorneys for our litigation and trial experience.

When you work with us, you are not just a case file. You get a small, highly experienced team that treats your case with the urgency and care it deserves. We investigate every detail, prepare every case as if it’s going to trial, and fight to hold the system accountable, because we believe that incarcerated people still have rights, and those rights matter.

If you or someone you love was seriously harmed in a San Diego jail, call our team today at (619) 338-0505 or fill out our online form.

San Diego Jail Injury Lawsuit FAQs

Call Vaage Law today at (619) 338-0505.