Rehab facilities that promise “drug-free” environments are 100% liable when Fentanyl enters the grounds and a vulnerable patient is allowed to overdose and die.
Families can collect evidence of drug smuggling by obtaining security footage, visitor records, and staff monitoring logs.
Families left to mourn a loved one can seek damages, including help with funeral costs and with replacing the income the victim may have supported the family with.
Signs of Fentanyl Smuggling at a Drug Treatment Center
Families will need to have strong evidence when taking on a giant health network or corporation behind a rehab facility.
The most obvious piece of evidence in a Fentanyl Overdose Fatality case is that a patient was able to overdose on Fentanyl. It means someone brought it into the facility, or the tragedy couldn’t have occurred.
Many signs point to the negligence of the rehab facility to keep Fentanyl out:
- An insufficient intake process to keep new patients from bringing in Fentanyl (e.g., smuggled drugs in clothing, books, bags, shoes)
- Lax security process that fails to screen all visitors properly
- Lax security process when screening packages and mail arriving for patients
- Missed face-to-face check-ins, Q15 checks, and room searches
- A failure to monitor and search staff members closely enough who might supply Fentanyl
- A failure to do proper background checks, as a part of negligent hiring, to uncover candidates with criminal records, perhaps involving drug dealing
- A failure to monitor medication rooms tightly enough
An experienced attorney fully investigates these concerns and others after a tragic overdose. A skilled attorney can collect important documents, like staff logs and surveillance footage, even when facility lawyers try to restrict access.
Other Overdose Mistakes that Leave Facilities Accountable
Of course, keeping drugs out of a facility is just one of the many “duties of care” a facility must show patients.
Staff members must monitor patients closely enough to spot the signs of an overdose early enough to prevent a devastating outcome. Staff must take the right actions in response to an overdose, such as calling 911, having NARCAN on hand, and administering it correctly. Staff members must also keep a close eye on patients recovering from an overdose to catch signs of respiratory problems and choking risk.
A failure in any of these duties can mean a parent company behind a drug rehab facility can be held responsible. Families can seek support for spouses and children, and other close relatives, so they don’t struggle financially in the years ahead.
Support for Families Who Lose a Loved One to an Overdose
A skilled negligent rehab facility wrongful death lawyer would conduct a full investigation into a loved one’s tragic overdose. Evidence would be collected to show any violation of laws or standards to build a strong case.
Evidence of a staff member’s negligence in allowing a patient to obtain a drug like Fentanyl and being able to overdose unnoticed would also be gathered.
An experienced lawyer then demands the maximum in support for families in mourning through a wrongful death claim and a Survival Claim.
Families can earn these benefits and protections and more:
- 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 and is not gone
- Support for the grief families must continue to cope with
- Support for the special moments with a loved one that have been lost, such as holiday gatherings, weddings, and the birth of children
- Punitive damages
Punitive damages are special penalties a judge hits a rehab facility with in some cases. They are levied against facility owners who act with shocking levels of negligence towards patients. It’s meant as an extra punishment against a truly reckless rehab company, but family members receive whatever fines are paid.
Contact Us if a California Rehab Facility Allowed Your Loved One to Overdose.
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.
Remember, families don’t have to have a lot of money to hire strong legal representation. We don’t charge anything unless we win your case for your family. Then our fee comes out of a settlement check a facility is forced to write.