A brain injury suffered during an overdose at a drug rehab can leave owners fully liable for allowing a patient in their care to suffer harm.

If the patient tragically dies, families would be able to file wrongful death claims. They could ask facility owners for help that benefits the family as they face bills and an uncertain future.

In cases where the overdose brain damage isn’t fatal, but perhaps a patient is left with a disability or is in a vegetative state, victims would file a personal injury claim. This claim seeks support to pay the victim’s medical bills for as long as necessary.

Why Are Brain Injuries Often Suffered in Drug Overdoses

Drugs such as opioids affect brain function. They also slow down bodily functions and signals between the brain and the body. This can affect the respiratory process.

Patients can have their breathing slowed or stopped, cutting off oxygen to the brain. This can cause Anoxic and Hypoxic brain damage if air is stopped for too long.

When a victim’s brain function controlling consciousness is damaged, they can also go into a coma or persistent vegetative state. They may require full medical supervision for days, weeks, or a lifetime.

How Brain Injury Claims Are Handled

A lack of oxygen to the brain can have many outcomes depending on how long patients were left to sit before getting help. Patients who go longer than 10 minutes are in danger of permanent damage and even losing their lives.

If a patient suffers a fatal injury, a wrongful death claim is filed against the drug rehab facility. It’s used to meet the needs of the family. The lawsuit asks for support now that loved ones like a spouse or children won’t have the emotional support and financial support the deceased provided.

On the other hand, a brain injury claim (a personal injury claim) is filed when the victim is still living. It seeks help to support a patient who’s dealing with injury, or may need constant care due to a brain injury disability. The focus is on the patient’s requirements and helping families cover the cost.

Here are a few of the differences in how victims and families seek justice:

Who Can File?

• Brain Injury Claim – The victim can file a claim against facility owners. However, if the victim isn’t physically or mentally able to file a claim, a family member can file on their behalf if appointed to represent the loved one. A California brain injury lawyer can also file on behalf of the family.
• Wrongful Death – Close family members would have the right to file a wrongful death claim. This right would usually go to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or children of the victim. One person would usually file on behalf of the whole family. A California wrongful death lawyer can also file a claim and represent the family.

See: More on who can file a California wrongful death claim.

Getting Medical Bills Paid

• Brain Injury Claim – The personal injury claim asks the at-fault drug clinic to pay all ambulance fees and recovery costs. The cost of care can be enormous, and the bills can pile up over years. Victims may need 24/7 car and that should all be covered by a negligent facility owner’s insurance.
• Wrongful Death – A loved one may pass away, but the ambulance fees and medical bills they built up won’t disappear. To get assistance in paying what may be months of medical expenses, families can file what’s known as a Survival Action. It’s similar to a wrongful death claim, but seeks support for damages the patient went through before dying.

Support for Other Damages After an Overdose

• Brain Injury Claim – Surviving victims can also seek compensation for their time away from work. They can receive support for the pain they’ve gone through and the emotional trauma involved.
• Wrongful Death – Families could ask for help in paying for a proper funeral and burial. They could receive support for the love and guidance that’s been lost. They may also get money to help pay for grief counseling. The weekly income the loved one may have supported the family with should be replaced.

Statute of Limitations on Filing

California allows victims and their families up to two years to file personal injury lawsuits or wrongful death lawsuits.

However, with brain injuries, that deadline can be extended according to California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 352. If an overdose victim is in a coma or lacks the legal capacity (due to a brain injury), and can’t file a claim, the two-year deadline may not start counting down until the patient wakes up and can file. The countdown could also start when a family member is appointed to represent the victim.

Why Is a Drug Rehab Facility Liable for an Overdose?

Drug rehab facilities owe patients a legal “duty of care.” They must do everything possible to protect patients and provide a safe environment for recovery.

Part of that duty is keeping drugs out of a facility so patients have no chance to overdose. It also involves monitoring patients closely enough to prevent major injuries if an overdose occurs. Failures on these basic promises of care and others leave negligent healthcare companies accountable.

When they promise this type of care, they also prove negligent when held up to their own corporate policies.

It’s why patients in rehabs should never be blamed for an overdose or a resulting brain injury.

See: The evidence checklist when victims take on negligent drug rehabs.

Contact Us If a Loved One Suffered Brain Injuries While at a Drug Rehab.

Attorney Martin Gasparian can collect powerful evidence both inside a facility and out to make sure patients and their families earn justice.

He offers a free, confidential consultation. It’s a no-risk way to learn how to hold a treatment center fully responsible for the costs of brain injury recovery. It’s also the best way for grieving families to determine their best course of action for their futures.

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