The death of a Houston man after Harris County transferred him to a private jail in Louisiana is raising questions about medical care, transparency and accountability when Texas counties send detainees out of state.

Erik Carlson, 29, was arrested in Harris County on a firearm-possession charge and later transferred to the LaSalle Correctional Center in Olla, Louisiana. A federal lawsuit filed by his family alleges that he repeatedly sought medical help as his condition worsened but did not receive adequate care.

According to Courthouse News Service, staff eventually arranged a hospital transfer after a nurse documented severe swelling in Carlson’s mouth and throat. He went into cardiac arrest during transport and died. An autopsy listed strep throat as the cause of death.

The allegations have not been finally decided in court. LaSalle did not respond to the publication’s request for comment.

The case matters to Texas families because an out-of-state transfer can make visitation, records requests and communication more difficult. It may also obscure the full number of deaths connected to a county’s jail population because Texas in-custody death records may not include people held by an out-of-state contractor.

Source: Courthouse News Service — private-jail transfers and Carlson lawsuit.