California health and safety codes require rehab facilities to have one staff member on duty at all times who has access to NARCAN.
The staff member must have training in administering NARCAN properly. The NARCAN must not be expired.
When drug rehab facilities have staff members who can’t unlock a door to get to NARCAN, or staffers who don’t know how to use NARCAN, and a patient is allowed to die, the facility is liable.
Families can file wrongful death claims and seek justice and support. To learn more about the proper steps to take, fill out a case review form to schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation.
The Dangers of NARCAN That Can’t Be Reached
Many patients at drug rehab centers come in with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) involving opioids like Fentanyl and Heroin. Fortunately, Naloxone, and the brand name NARCAN, is a safe and very effective remedy for patients who manage to overdose.
When used right, NARCAN can stop the overdose’s effect on the brain and prevent respiratory failure. Of course, when NARCAN isn’t available or is locked in a cabinet that can’t be opened, it is of no benefit to patients. It’s also useless when staff members don’t have training in how to use it and never administer it.
An amendment to California HSC Section 11834.26 explains that facilities must make sure someone on the grounds knows how to locate the NARCAN and use it.
“…have at least one staff member on the premises who knows the specific location of the naloxone hydrochloride, or other opioid antagonist, and who has been trained to administer it, as specified.”
A drug treatment center must also…
- Keep at least two unexpired doses of Naloxone on hand
- And make sure staff members know how to react to an overdosing patient
NARCAN can have a shelf life of around four years. Other forms of Naloxone may expire after two years. Expired NARCAN can slowly lose its effectiveness. All facilities must monitor expiration dates and replace this life-saving medication when it is no longer at full strength.
What Staff Members Should Do During a Patient Overdose
Professional and licensed care must put the patient’s safety first. That means constant monitoring to prevent patients from gaining access to drugs.
If patients are able to get their hands on a drug like fentanyl, it means staff members must be checking in often enough to catch the signs of an overdose. Even a gap of 10 minutes in surveillance can mean an overdosing patient suffers permanent harm.
When an overdosing patient is discovered, staff members must know how to take these steps and more:
- Training to know how to assess an overdose patient and know when a second or third dose of NARCAN is needed.
- Training to properly monitor breathing and heart rate for a patient recovering from an overdose, including administering CPR and preventing Anoxic Brain Injury.
- Training to help patients through the aftermath, including putting them into recovery position to keep them from vomiting and choking to death.
The dedication to see that the proper precautions are taken after an overdose actually starts during the hiring process. Hiring an employee without the proper training and experience can be incredibly dangerous for the SUD sufferers who come to a facility for help.
Facilities must hire staff members with the proper qualifications. They must perform background checks and confirm every claim on a resume. When rehab networks don’t take these basic steps at the start, the chances for a tragic outcome only increase. When that happens, facility owners can be held liable for Negligent Hiring and Negligent Retention.
Gathering Evidence of a Misuse of NARCAN
Families are empowered to file wrongful death claims to seek justice for a loved one. However, strong evidence will be necessary, because company owners behind drug treatment centers will be able to afford teams of lawyers to find ways to escape blame.
A skilled California rehab facility wrongful death lawyer can help families secure evidence to back a strong case. That can include the monitoring logs showing the neglect of a patient. It can involve the results of an internal investigation showing that staff members had no access to NARCAN, or didn’t know how to use it correctly.
The company or corporation may try to block access to these and other important documents, but a family’s attorney can make legal requests. This powerful evidence can force drug clinics to accept blame and help families with funeral costs, and their support in the years ahead.
Contact Us if a California Rehab Facility Caused Your Loved One Harm.
Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free, confidential consultation to families who lost a loved one at a California rehab facility.
Call us today or fill out a free case review form. There’s no obligation, but if you need our help, we don’t charge your family anything upfront. If you hire us, we are only paid if we win the case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check that a negligent facility must write for your family.