California drug treatment centers can promise a drug-free environment for patients, but then a deadly overdose occurs.
Families are justified in asking how a loved one managed to obtain Fentanyl in a secure facility.
If a clinic carelessly allowed drugs onto the grounds, families could demand support to help with the expenses and emotional trauma left behind after a tragic death.
Finding the Source of Fentanyl After a Rehab Overdose
There are many reasons why Fentanyl may suddenly show up in a “locked” drug treatment center.
Most involve the failure of security and monitoring in an inpatient clinic.
These and other lapses in supervision can leave facility owners and operators financially liable for a tragic, fatal Fentanyl overdose:
- Fentanyl brought in by a patient who wasn’t searched thoroughly enough during intake
- Drugs allowed to be smuggled in by a visitor
- Fentanyl left along the perimeter of a facility for patients to find later
- A lack of screening of mail and packages sent to patients
- Fentanyl provided by a staff member, perhaps one with a criminal past (negligent hiring)
- A lack of monitoring of other patients who may deal drugs
Of course, facilities are also liable for their emergency care of patients who manage to overdose on Fentanyl. If a patient can overdose and go a long time without being discovered, a facility can be held accountable.
When staff members don’t call 911 right away, they can be liable. If staff fail to give a proper number of doses of NARCAN, they can be fully liable for a death and responsible for helping the affected families.
See: Checking the license and past violations at a California drug rehab center.
Support for Families After a Fentanyl Overdose Death
A skilled California negligent rehab facility lawyer would demand all wrongful death benefits for families, including support from a Survival Action. A survival action is another claim that allows families to collect support for the damages a patient suffered before passing on, including ambulance and ER fees.
These and other hardships must be covered in any settlement or court judgment:
- Support for burial costs
- Replacement of the income the deceased may have supported the family with
- Support for the love and care a loved one had provided
- Support for the grief families must continue to cope with
- Support for the special life moments with a loved one that have been lost, such as holiday gatherings, weddings, and the birth of children
- Support for parents who lose a teen to a tragic overdose in an adolescent drug rehab facility (loss of companionship)
- Punitive damages
How Will I Afford a Lawyer for a Wrongful Death Overdose Case?
If your family requires help to hold a drug treatment center responsible, you don’t have to worry about finding a way to pay a lawyer. We work on a contingency basis. It means there’s never an upfront cost, and we don’t get paid unless we win the case. Then our fee is paid out of the settlement check a negligent facility owner must write for your family.
Contact Us If a Loved One Died of an Overdose at a Rehab Facility.
Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free, confidential consultation to victims and their families. It’s a no-risk information session after negligence at a California drug rehab facility causes harm to someone trying to manage a difficult recovery.
Call us today or fill out a free case review form.