California Health and Safety Code requires all drug rehab centers to keep a minimum of two doses of NARCAN on hand to treat overdose victims.

If an overdose victim is hurt or killed due to a lack of NARCAN, families can file claims and hold facilities that broke the law financially accountable.

Under “Negligence Per Se”, a facility that breaks a safety code resulting in someone getting hurt can be found automatically at fault and liable. “Near-Per-Se” describes a case meeting some of the requirements of Negligence Per Se, and can often be easier for families to win.

Negligence Per Se Vs. Near Per Se

Personal injury cases must usually be backed with strong evidence. In a fatal Fentanyl overdose case involving a rehab center’s negligence, the negligence would need to be proven with evidence.

That evidence might include monitoring logs showing a patient wasn’t checked on or phone records showing 911 wasn’t called soon enough.

However, under the legal concept of Negligence Per Se, grief-stricken families have another path to holding a facility responsible. This type of wrongful death case can be won by demonstrating how a health code or law was broken. With Negligence Per Se, a drug treatment center can be found liable for a loved one if it violated a state or federal law.

If a safety law or code was ignored, causing someone to die from an overdose, that’s often the only evidence needed to hold a drug rehab operator liable. Other evidence showing negligence isn’t always necessary.

Often, in Negligence Per Se cases, the accident and injury are the very incidents the law was created to prevent.

Near Per Se in Wrongful Death Cases

Near Per Se is similar to Negligence Per Se, but not quite the same. It’s “nearly” Negligence Per Se.

It usually refers to a case where some of the standards for Negligence Per Se are met. However, additional evidence may be necessary.

This might be the case if facility staff members didn’t break a particular law, but violated a certain healthcare safety standard.

They may have failed to meet the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) guidelines adopted by many facilities, known as the ASAM criteria.

Near Per Se may help prove a case if a staff member violated one of the company’s own policies and endangered a patient.

It may not completely prove who was at fault, but it can go a long way towards building a strong case for a family and earning support. Evidence of negligence can be added to build a stronger claim.

California Safety and Health Code on NARCAN

A violated Health and Safety Code (HSC) that could leave a drug rehab facility immediately liable for a tragic overdose is one regarding their supply of NARCAN. It went into effect in 2022 in California.

An amendment to California HSC Section 11834.26 sets a limit of how low a facility can let NARCAN supplies get.

As part of the amendment, facilities must…

“(1) Maintain, at all times, at least two unexpired doses of naloxone, or any other opioid antagonist medication that is approved by the FDA for the treatment of an opioid overdose, on the premises of the licensed SUD recovery or treatment facility.”

The code also mandates a few other protections for patients.

• Facilities must have at least one staff member on duty at all times who has access to NARCAN (a brand name for Naloxone) and knows its location.
• That staff member must also have training in how to administer NARCAN.
• They must also be fully trained to respond to an overdose patient.

A failure to meet these health and safety laws can leave a facility fully liable when a patient is able to overdose and is allowed to die without proper care. Under Negligence-Per-Se, it often becomes easier for families to hold the parent companies behind facilities liable.

See: Who pays when facilities lose overdose wrongful death cases?

Contact Us if your Loved One Was Allowed to Overdose in a Drug Rehab

Families who can prove a rehab center’s negligence in a loved one’s overdose death can demand full support. A California drug treatment center can be held liable for a family’s funeral costs and remaining medical bills. The income a loved one may have supported the family with must be replaced. The family’s emotional distress now and in the future should also be supported.

Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free, confidential consultation to families who lost a loved one at a California drug rehab facility. There’s no obligation, but all families should know that there are no upfront costs to hire a skilled lawyer. We don’t get paid unless we win your case. Then our fee comes out of the settlement a drug rehab facility must provide.