The size of an overdose wrongful death settlement is determined by several factors based on the surviving family’s needs.
A settlement should take into account funeral costs and leftover medical bills. It should compensate loved ones for the income the deceased would have provided to support the family. The family’s emotional loss will also factor into a settlement amount.
Drug rehab wrongful death settlements can provide families with thousands of dollars in support. Some cases are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some settlements reach into the millions of dollars.
What’s Included in a Drug Rehab Wrongful Death Claim
California empowers families to seek justice and support after a tragic overdose death at a drug treatment center.
Wrongful death claims hold drug rehab facility owners financially liable for their negligence leading to a patient’s death.
These and other hardships would factor into the value of an overdose claim:
- Support to pay all burial costs.
- Replacement of any weekly income from a job the victim had, but the family can no longer depend on.
- Support for the loss of love, guidance, and security a victim had always provided.
- Support for the loss of companionship parents must cope with after losing a child to an overdose in an adolescent rehab facility.
- Support for the important life events that families won’t be able to enjoy with their loved ones. This can include holiday gatherings, weddings, and the birth of children.
- Punitive damages. These are penalties the facility is hit with to serve as a punishment for especially reckless actions that harm patients. They aren’t assessed for the family’s benefit, but families receive any money paid through fines. Punitive damages aren’t issued often, but they can boost the support a family receives.
The final totals on damages and evaluations of the emotional trauma would play a big role in how much families received.
Earning More with a Rehab Facility Wrongful Death Lawyer
The investigative skills of a wrongful death attorney can also help families earn more.
A lawyer would collect evidence of negligence at a facility. This might include details showing a patient was monitored closely enough. It might highlight how lax security allowed drugs into a “drug-free” facility. There may be signs that staff members made mistakes in their response to an overdose.
These items of evidence and others help force drug rehab centers to stop blaming victims and accept liability.
A lawyer who also has strong negotiation skills is often able to earn families much more to protect their futures than they could by filing a claim themselves.
See: Who Can File a Drug Rehab Wrongful Death Claim?
Additional Support for Families Through a Survival Action
A survival action is a separate claim that can increase the support families earn. It is often combined with a wrongful death claim.
Survival actions are brought forth by the victim’s estate. They seek support based on what the victim went through before passing away. That can include the hospital bills built up while the victim was still alive and their income lost while they were out of work.
Any money awarded must first be used to pay any outstanding debts owed by the deceased. Then, any remaining money is issued to the victim’s spouse and children, and in some cases, other family members.
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.
There’s no obligation for your meeting. However, if you need our help, you don’t have to find the money to hire a lawyer at such a difficult time. We are only paid if we win your case for your family. Then our fee comes out of the settlement a drug care facility must pay your family.