California drug rehab facilities owe their patients a standard “duty of care” guaranteed by law.

However, in some wrongful death cases, families can argue that a “special relationship” between facilities and their vulnerable patients applies.

This stronger duty of care sometimes makes it easier for families to prove a facility’s negligence. When a special relationship is established, it can leave families a much simpler path to winning full support through a lawsuit.

Special Relationships Between a Rehab and Patients

All California businesses owe a normal “duty of care” to their clients and customers under premises liability. Owners and operators must avoid creating hazards that might cause harm to their visitors.

But there is a stronger legal responsibility in some cases, sometimes involving a patient and healthcare provider known as a special relationship. It’s a stronger responsibility for rehabs. They must not only avoid causing harm, but they must take responsibility for the future well-being of patients.

It might be argued that a special relationship exists when:

• A drug rehab agrees to take in a patient shown to be vulnerable (a Substance Use Disorder patient)
• The patient is completely dependent on the facility for care
• A drug rehab has control of the patient’s life and controls the conditions in the facility

The likelihood of establishing a special relationship in a case is also strengthened by the standards of care in a patient/healthcare provider relationship.

Affirmative Duty of Care in a Drug Rehab

In California, the factors above can mean drug treatment center owners were under an “affirmative duty of care” at the time an injury or death occurs. An affirmative duty indicates they were accountable for taking positive action to protect patients, even if the facility didn’t cause the danger.

The drug treatment center that admits patients under a special relationship doctrine can be responsible for preventing foreseeable harm and intervening during an emergency.

It can mean taking action to help in these situations and more:

• If a patient manages to obtain drugs or alcohol.
• If a patient attempts to harm themselves.
• If a patient tries to leave the facility before they are ready.

These are important factors when a family takes a facility to court to seek justice and support. The heightened obligation created by a special relationship and affirmative duty of care can make it easier to hold facilities accountable.

The treatment center would be held to a higher standard, making it easier for families to show failures in the care an inpatient clinic provided.

The Support Available if a Special Relationship is Established

If a judge agrees that a special relationship existed between a negligent facility and a patient, families may have an easier path to earning wrongful death support.

That support can be financial, for the bills and debt that families must face. It may be awarded for emotional losses, for the difficulties close relatives will have coping in the years to come.

A California rehab facility wrongful death lawyer would help establish this heightened responsibility and then demand support through a wrongful death claim and survival action:

• Money to cover funeral expenses
• Coverage of the emergency response fees and hospital bills left behind
• Replacement of the income the victim can no longer support loved ones with in the years to come
• Support for the emotional trauma the family will continue to experience (e.g., a loss of love, care, guidance)
• Support for parents who lose a precious child at an adolescent rehab facility, covering their loss of companionship (a special relationship may be easier to establish when a vulnerable child is involved)

Support for Families After Losing a Loved One in a Negligent Rehab

When a special duty of care is ignored, vulnerable patients end up paying the price. A negligent facility can also blame the patient or try to portray it as an unpreventable medical emergency. Don’t accept these explanations. Your loved one isn’t at fault.

Families can fight back. They can ask questions. They can file wrongful death claims and seek justice.

Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free, confidential consultation to families who have experienced a tragedy. It’s a no-risk, no-obligation way to find out what a wrongful death case would be worth and how to hold a negligent treatment center fully responsible.