New Mexico Civil Rights Attorney Litigating Institutional Abuse

new-mexico -civil-rights-attorney

When the government takes custody of a person, whether a child in CYFD care, an inmate in a county jail, or a patient in a state facility, they assume a constitutional duty to keep them safe. When that duty is ignored, the result is often deliberate indifference, severe injury, or wrongful death. At Collins & Collins, P.C., our New Mexico civil rights attorneys do not view these tragedies as isolated accidents; we view them as systemic failures that violate the trust of our communities and devastate people harmed by systemic abuse and neglect.

Our legal team acts as a shield for New Mexico families, including those in Tribal and border communities, often disproportionately targeted by institutional neglect. We utilize 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the NM Civil Rights Act to pierce the corporate and governmental veils that protect bad actors. Whether the harm stems from profit-driven medical denial in detention or administrative failures in foster care, we focus on exposing the policy decisions that allowed the abuse to occur.

“Claims against government entities in New Mexico are subject to strict deadlines, often requiring a Tort Claims Notice within 90 days of the incident. Delaying can permanently bar your right to justice.” 

Contact us immediately for a confidential case review to ensure your rights are preserved.

If you or a loved one has suffered severe permanent harm or death please call 505-242-5958 or complete our Case Review Form

Why Hire Collins & Collins, P.C. for Your Civil Rights Case

Litigating against the government or a multi-million dollar private contractor is not the same as a standard personal injury lawsuit in New Mexico. State agencies like CYFD and county detention centers are protected by powerful legal shields, including Qualified Immunity and the New Mexico Tort Claims Act caps. While other firms may shy away from these complex barriers, Collins & Collins, P.C. has built a practice defined by overcoming them.

We Target the Policy, Not Just the Person

In many institutional abuse cases, the state will try to blame a “bad apple” employee to avoid paying for the true damage. We reject that narrative. Our team utilizes Section 1983 litigation and Monell liability claims to prove that the harm was caused by systemic failure, whether it was profit-driven understaffing in a jail or a lack of vetting in foster care. We understand that to restore justice for your family, we must hold the institution itself answerable for its negligence.

Legal-help-for -nstitutional-abuse-NM
government-institution-abuse-attorney

Uncovering What the State Tries to Hide

Institutions often rely on silence, lost records, and “internal investigations” to bury the truth. Our approach is grounded in aggressive discovery. We know how to obtain staffing logs, video surveillance, and internal emails that prove deliberate indifference to your loved one’s safety. Whether you are in Albuquerque, a border town like Gallup, or a Tribal community navigating state jurisdiction, our goal is to expose the truth and ensure that the vulnerable are treated with the dignity guaranteed by the Constitution.

We don’t just file lawsuits; we dismantle the defenses that allow abuse to continue.

Institutional Civil Rights Cases We Handle in New Mexico

We do not dabble in general personal injury; our practice is laser-focused on custodial negligence and systemic abuse. Whether the victim is an elder in a state-regulated home, a detainee in a county jail, or a child under CYFD supervision, our attorneys specializing in civil rights claims litigate cases where the institution itself is the primary bad actor.

Juvenile Detention & Youth Corrections Abuse

When the state incarcerates a minor, it has a heightened duty to protect them. Yet, facilities often rely on unconstitutional methods like solitary confinement, excessive force, and chemical restraints to manage behavioral health issues. We represent families whose children have suffered physical or sexual abuse in juvenile detention centers, often targeting the failure of staff training and supervision.

Key Focus Areas: Improper use of restraint chairs, sexual assault by staff or peers, and failure to provide mental health intervention for suicidal youth.

CYFD Failures & Foster Care Negligence

The Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD) is tasked with protection, but systemic mismanagement often places children in clearer danger than they faced at home. We scrutinize whether the agency failed to follow Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) placement preferences, ignored red flags of abuse in non-kinship foster homes, or failed to conduct mandatory background checks.

Key Focus Areas: Sexual abuse in foster placements, ignored reports from mandated reporters, and the “shuffling” of children into unsafe group homes to clear caseloads.

Jail Medical Neglect & Wrongful Death in Custody

The Eighth Amendment guarantees the right to medical care, yet “deliberate indifference” is rampant in New Mexico jails. We hold counties and their private medical contractors (such as Corizon, YesCare, or PrimeCare) liable when profit-driven cost-cutting leads to death or permanent injury. Our firm treats medical denial not as an oversight, but as a civil rights violation.

Key Focus Areas: Deaths from fentanyl/alcohol withdrawal, untreated sepsis or infections, refusal to transport for emergency care, and suicide in solitary confinement.

Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes and Facilities

When a nursing home accepts state funds (Medicaid/Medicare), it accepts state regulations. We investigate cases where understaffing, a deliberate corporate choice, leads to severe neglect. Unlike standard malpractice, our elder abuse lawyers look for the deprivation of rights, where a facility knowingly allows dangerous conditions to persist, violating the resident’s dignity and safety.

Key Focus Areas: Stage 3 or 4 decubitus ulcers (bedsores), malnutrition/dehydration, elopement (wandering) due to lack of security, and physical abuse by overworked staff.

Abuse by For-Profit Detention & Rehab Centers

Corporations that profit from incarceration or court-ordered treatment often cut corners on safety to boost shareholder returns. Under the ‘State Actor’ doctrine, these private companies can be sued for civil rights violations when they perform government functions. We aggressively litigate against facilities that prioritize beds filled over lives saved, including cases of children harmed by for-profit institutions where profit was placed above safety.

Key Focus Areas: Youth residential treatment centers (RTCs), for-profit prisons, and behavioral health facilities that deny care or use unlicensed staff to maximize revenue.

How We Prove Systemic Liability & Break "Qualified Immunity"

Winning a civil rights case against a New Mexico institution requires more than showing an injury occurred; it requires proving that the system was designed to fail. Our method goes beyond standard personal injury tactics to uncover the administrative rot at the core of the abuse.

Aggressive Discovery & Spoliation Prevention

Institutions frequently “lose” video footage or alter logs after a critical incident. We move quickly to send preservation letters and file motions to prevent the spoliation of evidence. Our civil rights attorney demands staffing rosters, internal emails, and prior “Notice of Claim” records to prove that the facility knew about the danger and chose to do nothing.

Establishing "Monell" Liability

To bypass legal immunities, we must often prove that the abuse wasn’t just one “rogue employee,” but the result of an official policy or a widespread custom of neglect (known as a Monell claim). We utilize expert witnesses in correctional healthcare, police procedure, and social work standards to demonstrate that the violation was a predictable result of the institution’s own policies.

Restoring Truth & Accountability

For many of our clients, especially in Tribal and rural communities, a lawsuit is about more than money; it is about truth-telling. By forcing these agencies to answer under oath and exposing their failures in open court, our lawyers help families reclaim their dignity and force changes that protect future generations.

Ready to demand answers? Do not let the 90-day Tort Claims Act deadline expire. Call 505-242-5958 today to speak with a New Mexico civil rights team that refuses to back down.

Proven Results: We Force Institutions to Pay for Their Neglect

When the government refuses to acknowledge its failures, a verdict or settlement is often the only way to force them to listen. Collins & Collins, P.C. has secured over $20 million for New Mexico families, not just to compensate for loss, but to penalize the systems that allowed it to happen.

Disclaimer: “Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but they demonstrate our capacity to litigate complex Section 1983 and Wrongful Death claims against powerful state entities.”

Standing Up to Institutional Power: Restoring Balance to the Law

In New Mexico, state agencies and private prison contractors possess immense resources, legal teams, and “sovereign immunity” shields designed to silence victims. For families in rural counties, Tribal lands, or border towns, this power imbalance can feel insurmountable.

As Experienced Civil rights lawyers in Albuquerque, the attorneys at Collins & Collins, P.C. exist to dismantle that imbalance. We view the law not just as a set of rules, but as a shield for the community. When we litigate against CYFD or a county detention center, we are doing more than seeking money; we are demanding truth-telling. We use the discovery process to expose hidden policies and force the state to answer for the harm it has caused to our kin and neighbors.

Frequently Asked Questions

We simplify complex legal matters by providing clear, concise, and accurate answers to your most pressing questions.

Yes, in many cases. Under the New Mexico Tort Claims Act, you must often file a "Tort Claims Notice" within 90 days of the incident to preserve your right to sue a government entity. If you miss this window, your case may be permanently barred. Do not rely on the standard 3-year statute of limitations; call us immediately to ensure this deadline is met.

You do not pay us out of pocket. We operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning our fees come only from the settlement or verdict we secure for you. Additionally, under Section 1983 and the NM Civil Rights Act, we can often force the government to pay our attorney’s fees separately, maximizing the amount that goes to your family.

Jurisdiction in New Mexico is complex. Abuse involving Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officers or facilities on Tribal land involves Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) rules, which differ from state law. Our team is experienced in navigating the jurisdictional maze between state, federal, and Tribal authorities to determine the correct path to justice.

Often, it is both. If a loved one died in jail due to medical neglect, we typically file suit against the county (for custody failures) and the private medical contractor (for malpractice and civil rights violations). We investigate corporate contracts to uncover who was responsible for the specific failures that caused the harm.

Your Rights Are Inalienable | We Are Here to Defend Them

When the state breaks the law, it breaks the trust of the entire community. You do not have to navigate the aftermath of institutional abuse alone, and you do not have to accept silence as an answer.

At Collins & Collins, P.C., we provide the relentless legal protection your family deserves. We will handle the investigation, the bureaucracy, and the battle in court so that you can focus on healing.

Silence protects the system. Action protects your rights. Contact us today at 505-242-5958 for a free, confidential case review.

Speak with a Legal Team That Puts Justice First