Families forced to sue negligent drug rehab facilities will often be filing lawsuits against the facility’s parent company or corporate owners.
Filing an injury claim against a giant network of care facilities could prove challenging. It can mean facing off against teams of lawyers and liability insurance providers.
These obstacles can make it hard for injured patients to earn support for their pain and expensive medical bills. They can make it hard for families to earn justice after a wrongful death.
Filing a Claim Against a Negligent Drug Rehab Company
Families forced to take on negligent drug treatment clinics won’t usually just be taking on a local facility. If a loved one gets hurt, families may find themselves up against a large network of healthcare providers.
Drug rehab centers are often owned by companies or giant corporations. They may be owned by equity firms representing many investors. They may be operated by a management company that handles the operations for a parent corporation.
All of these parties and more could be liable if a patient is allowed to get hurt. Unfortunately, they also have the resources to make winning a lawsuit against a careless facility difficult.
These and other factors can make it difficult for families to take on large businesses after a loved one is injured:
- Corporate lawyers who will try to shift the blame to the patient and try to downplay the injuries suffered.
- Commercial liability insurers for the facility will assign insurance adjusters to the case to try to shift blame and try to limit the support patients and family members receive.
- Legal fine print. Company lawyers and insurance adjusters will have the advantage over victims and their families when it comes to contract terminology. Attorneys and adjusters can point to parts of a contract or policy and say it prevents families from seeking damages after a tragic injury or death. In many cases, companies will think they are protected from legal consequences when they are not. The protections built into policies can also be questioned by a skilled attorney.
- Complicated paperwork. Victims and their families filing an injury claim against a drug treatment center may get buried under stacks of necessary paperwork. An experienced attorney helps victims get these documents filled out correctly and filed on time.
- Backing a case with evidence. A claim filed against a vast healthcare network will have to be backed with evidence that lawyers can’t pick apart and dismiss. Unfortunately, owners and their attorneys often control the most important evidence. They can make it difficult for victims to obtain critical documents (e.g., work logs, security footage, internal investigations).
Suing California for a Negligent State-Run Drug Rehab Facility
California generally focuses on licensing and monitoring privately-owned drug rehab networks. However, the state does operate Detox centers and hospital-based chemical dependency rehab clinics.
These places often specialize in helping patients who are covered under California’s Medi-Cal program (the state’s version of federal Medicaid).
A tragic death at one of these centers can force families to file claims against a state agency. These types of lawsuits are also complex, with families coming up against a lot of resistance.
Victims generally have up to two years to file a claim against a privately owned facility. However, California enjoys some protections against litigation. When victims must file against the government, the statute of limitations gets much shorter. It’s often only 6 months.
A case against the state can involve a battle with government lawyers. The paperwork is also complex, and any mistake can be used as an excuse to reject a claim. Victims and their families would be wise to seek legal counsel before taking on a California department.
Winning Support for Victims of a Negligent Drug Treatment Center
A skilled lawyer can help families file claims, meet important deadlines, and combat aggressive corporate lawyers. A lawyer would also fully investigate an accident and obtain every piece of evidence showing a facility failed to keep a patient safe.
That evidence can often involve a lack of monitoring of a patient, as often necessary, allowing a drug like fentanyl into a facility, and an inadequate response to an overdose.
An attorney also builds a full list of damages for victims and their families and makes sure they receive the maximum available for what they’ve been put through.
For Victims:
- Compensation for all medical bills past and future
- Compensation for the paychecks victims have missed while missing more time at work
- Compensation for the physical pain and continued emotional trauma victims are put through
- A refund on the admission fee to the negligent facility (hopefully to pay for rehab at a much better facility)
For Families After a Tragic Death:
- Money to cover funeral expenses through a wrongful death claim
- Coverage of the emergency response fees and hospital bills left behind through a survival action
- A refund on the intake fee a family paid in hopes a loved one could get better
- Replacement of the income the victim can no longer support loved ones with in the years to come
- Support for the emotional trauma the family will continue to experience
- Loss of companionship and support for parents who lose a precious child at an understaffed adolescent rehab facility
Contact Us if Your Loved One Gets Hurt at a Rehab Center.
Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free, confidential consultation to victims who were hurt or families who lost a loved one at a California rehab facility. There’s never any obligation for this informational session.
Call us today or fill out a free case review form. We can also help victims who were harmed by a facility that’s no longer in operation.
Remember, if you need a lawyer to help you earn justice, you don’t have to find the money to hire one at such a difficult time. We begin work immediately, but are only paid if we win your case for your family. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check a drug care facility must write for you.