The family of a man who died after falling off the border wall in California has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government.

The complaint, filed in the San Diego federal court, claims law enforcement refused to provide medical attention to 38-year-old Joel Reyes Munoz after he fell from the wall in January 2022.

The lawsuit said Reyes Munoz was arrested shortly after the fall and held in custody, later becoming “ill and eventually unresponsive.”

“Although it was obvious that he had sustained serious injuries and was manifestly in need of immediate emergency medical care, Border Patrol and CBP officials refused to bring him to an emergency hospital facility,” the complaint states.

“Only when Mr. Reyes Munoz became unconscious and stopped breathing did any government official summon emergency medical services. By that time, Mr. Reyes Munoz, because of the delay, had already died.”

From ABC 10 News:

According to the complaint, border fall deaths and injuries in the San Diego area had been on the rise around the time of Reyes Munoz's death.

Figures from the San Diego County Medical Examiner indicate there were zero such deaths between 2016 and 2018, but 16 people died from border barrier falls between 2019 and 2021, according to the complaint. Fall injuries during those same time periods also increased from 67 between 2016 and 2018 to 375 between 2019 and 2021.