Fact pattern: A municipal jail detainee was found face down in his cell. He was transported to a private hospital for treatment. Shortly after being admitted, he died. Must the municipality pay the medical bill(s)? Does the status of the detainee - prisoner, detainee, merely in custody, etc - have any bearing on the municipality's responsibility? Thank you for any light you may be able to shed on this issue.

Without going into a lot of detail here, check your indigent health care agency. The rule of thumb, as I understand it, is - if the person is indigent and a resident of the health care "district" (county, hospital district, what ever) and an inmate, then the local indigent health care system is responsible. If he is indigent and a resident of another "district", then thatdistrict is responsible for reimbursing the local one. If he is out of state, the municipality / county is stuck.........

Thanks for the help. But what if he was not indigent?

If this is the "one in a million" who isn't indigent, then he or his private insurance company are responsible unless your facility caused the medical problem.