Anoxic Brain Injury & Catastrophic Injury from an Overdose in Rehab

Your loved one checked into a rehab center because it seemed like a safe place to start a recovery journey.

But a drug overdose in a facility that turns out to be negligent places a family member at life-threatening risk.

An overdose can cause an anoxic brain injury, cutting off oxygen to the brain, causing brain damage and even death.

If your loved one died while at a drug rehab facility, call us today or fill out a free case review form.

What is Anoxic Brain Injury?

An anoxic brain injury occurs when air is cut off from the brain. In a drug overdose, many drugs, like opioids, slow down the body’s functions, including respiratory functions. Lung function can be slowed or stopped, leaving the brain without oxygen. Hypoxic brain injury is also possible (a partial loss of oxygen to the brain).

The Shepherd Center Brain Injury Hospital reports that brain cells may begin to die after about four minutes without oxygen, often leading to widespread brain damage.

Drug treatment centers often promise families their loved ones will be in a drug-free environment and will be monitored constantly. But if a resident can overdose and go unnoticed, the corporate owners are at fault. They can be held liable for the costs of injury recovery or a tragic death. That can include support for a lifetime if the victim suffers permanent brain damage.

Consequences of an Overdose with Anoxic Brain Injury

In a locked-down inpatient facility, close monitoring of residents is frequently key to help stop overdoses and prevent brain damage. Overdose symptoms need to be caught quickly. 911 needs to be contacted immediately. A prescription medicine like NARCAN should be used to stop an opioid overdose.

Depending on when an overdose is caught and the action that is taken, the effects on a victim’s brain can range from mild to very serious.

The Shepherd Center diagnoses the potential health effects like this:

Brief oxygen deprivation: A mild brain injury can cause temporary confusion and memory issues. Most patients fully recover, but some suffer longer-lasting cognitive and emotional distress.

Moderate oxygen deprivation: Extended problems with memory loss. Coordination and speech could be affected. Rehabilitation will last much longer. Patients may deal with long-term brain impairment.

Prolonged oxygen loss: A loss of consciousness and even a coma are possible outcomes. Long-term disabilities can result. People with Substance Use Disorder can experience a state of unresponsive wakefulness. Any deprivation that goes past 10 minutes will likely result in severe damage. Patients going well past this point can end up in a vegetative state.

Of course, drug use can only make the consequences of anoxic brain injury worse. It’s why staff members need to be vigilant in catching residents who are using drugs or have already overdosed. The span of a few minutes can be the difference between life and tragic fatal overdose.

Signs a Drug Rehab Facility Is Liable for a Tragic Overdose

Drug rehabs often promise full monitoring of residents and a secure environment free from drugs.

Despite the guarantees, drug exposure is always possible. Careless security staff and other clinic workers can show far too much negligence in care. They make it much too easy for residents to sneak drugs in, hide drugs, and to overdose.

Negligence in care may be 100% responsible for your loved one’s tragic death, but it will take evidence to prove what happened and earn justice.

Evidence showing how long a victim went before being discovered (e.g., data from staff monitoring logs)
Evidence showing a delay in calling 911
A record of delay in using NARCAN, a delay in using a second dose
A record of delay in providing rescue breathing
Surveillance video
Failures in care for a victim after an overdose reaction is stopped (e.g., being placed in recovery position)
Evidence that staff members weren’t qualified or weren’t trained properly (e.g., negligent hiring and negligent training)

Of course, there can be evidence showing breakdowns leading up to an overdose and anoxic shock. The fact that a resident was able to obtain drugs without detection can be evidence of a negligent facility.

A skilled attorney can help families gather evidence of this recklessness and other examples.

Support Available for the Victims of Anoxic Brain Damage

Patients who survive such an overdose and serious brain injury can seek full compensation from a negligent company, non-profit, or corporation that owns a recovery health network.

A skilled attorney would demand benefits for victims that supported them for as long as necessary:

Coverage of all current hospital bills and all future care expected to be needed (e.g., home care, nursing home care, medical equipment)
Full care for any patient left in a coma
Coverage of any rehabilitation and physical therapy needed, including occupational therapy
Support for the pain and emotional trauma brain injury patients experience
Replacement of paychecks the victim has forfeited while unable to work

In tragic cases, a brain injury results in the loss of life. The needs of a patient’s family become the focus. A California wrongful death lawyer can represent a spouse and children, and other family members to demand this and other support:

The cost of a funeral
The payment of any remaining medical bills
Replacement of the income a loved one had contributed to support the family
Support for the loss of security, care, love, and guidance families can no longer draw from
The loss of companionship for parents who lose a child while in an adolescent rehab or therapeutic boarding school for teens

Victims and their families can face financial turmoil in a future without a loved one around. It’s critical they get all the support they can now, because they won’t be able to ask for more later. A skilled attorney can often earn much more for families than they could by taking on a giant healthcare company themselves.

How long do families have to file a claim after an overdose in a drug rehab?

Victims and their families would usually have up to two years in California to file a personal injury claim or a wrongful death claim. Victims should not delay, though. Drug treatment center owners will have corporate lawyers ready to try to conceal evidence. Waiting can mean this evidence is lost and witnesses become harder to locate. It’s best to speak to a lawyer as soon as possible.

Contact Us If a Loved One Died in a Drug Treatment Clinic.

Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free, confidential consultation to help California families stay informed of the rights they have. It’s a no-risk way to learn how to hold a treatment center fully responsible for a tragic overdose and death.

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

Victims and families who have been put through so much never have to worry about affording a lawyer. If you hire us, we aren’t paid unless we win the case. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check a facility must write for the family.