COWS and CIWA scales are used by detox center staff to gauge the severity of a patient’s withdrawal symptoms.

These scoring systems help clinics assess the danger of injury or death a patient is in.

When these scales are not used, or scores are ignored, patients may end up without care and suffer life-threatening withdrawal symptoms. California drug detox clinics can be held fully liable for their negligence in a vulnerable patient’s death.

How COWS and CIWA Tests Protect Detox Patients

COWS and CIWA are two important tools staff members at California detox centers use to monitor and protect patients. The two scales are used to assess different types of patients in hospitals and drug rehab facilities.

COWS is a scale for withdrawal used with opioid patients (e.g., heroin and fentanyl). It stands for Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) explains how COWS monitors 11 factors with patients, including anxiety levels, tremors, temperature, and heart rate.

CIWA stands for Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol. It’s a different scale, and there are a few versions. One is used for patients recovering from benzodiazepine use (e.g., Xanax, Valium). Another type of CIWA test, CIWA-Ar, assesses patients in alcohol abuse recovery. It checks a similar list of 10 symptoms, including hallucinations, nausea, and headaches.

These tests allow staff members a way to check a patient’s stage of withdrawal and severity of symptoms. It’s also a critical method for giving patients the best chance at recovery. Problems are identified so they are treated before they become fatal.

 Negligence of Detox Facilities When Ignoring COWS & CIWA

These tests are very useful tools to ensure that patients are treated for discomfort and that withdrawal emergencies are responded to appropriately.

Unfortunately, a facility can ignore the important data and allow a patient to suffer a tragic detox fatality. But families must know that facility owners can be held fully liable for this type of inexcusable negligence.

Proving this negligence is an important part of a wrongful death claim. Evidence showing a failure to conduct a CIWA test, or the misinterpretation of a COWS test, can help family members seek justice.

A skilled attorney can also make strong legal demands to secure internal evidence and other proof of what really led to a detox center death:

• Recorded results of CIWA and COWS testing
• Medical expert testimony showing how test results were ignored
• Staff logs showing when a patient was checked in on
• Evidence that a patient was left to suffer fatal withdrawal complications without supervision
• Phone records and 911 records showing how mistakes were made in the response to withdrawal issues
• The results of an internal investigation into how the tragedy occurred
• The results from a California medical examiner or a coroner
• The past records of the detox facility and past inspections and violations written up by California’s DHCS

For these and other inexcusable errors, a lawyer would demand that a family get full assistance with burial costs and in paying remaining medical bills. Close relatives, like a spouse and children, must also get wrongful death support for the income the deceased had supported the family with.

Contact us if a detox facility caused the death of a loved one.

Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free, confidential consultation to all family members who have lost a loved one at a California detox center.

This meeting comes with no obligation. It’s a no-risk opportunity to find out if treatment centers can be held responsible for a tragic death and what they should be offering those left behind. There are also no upfront fees if you need our help. We don’t get paid unless we win justice and support for your family.

Call us today or fill out a free case review form.