After being discharged, rehab patients are often much more susceptible to the effects of any drugs they’ve been off of during detox.

During recovery and abstinence, their tolerance will be greatly reduced. If they suddenly overdose, the reaction can be faster with a greater risk of death. For many patients, this danger and the biggest risk of relapse often occur during their first two weeks out of a drug treatment program.

Drug rehab facilities that don’t warn patients and their families of this risk can be held liable for a former patient’s injury or death.

The Rehab Facility’s Duty to Patients

California drug rehab patients may make serious progress on getting their Substance Use Disorder (SUD) under control. Facility staff may have had a big part in making that happen, but when it’s time for discharge, their duty to care for a patient doesn’t end.

They must be sure a patient is ready to be out in the world. They must be concerned with the next step for a patient. (Where will they go?) They must also warn patients of the temptations and risks that will be waiting for them.

Drug treatment center operators are liable for arming patients with the knowledge they need to return to normal life. That will include a warning about their lowered tolerance for the drug they worked hard to give up.

The Dangers of Reduced Tolerance

Ending a dependence on a harmful drug like fentanyl, cocaine, or a Benzo is the purpose of a stay at a rehab facility. But abstinence from these drugs can create a unique danger once patients are discharged.

The time away from a drug can lead to a lowered tolerance. While patients are taking a certain drug, their bodies will build up a resistance to its effects. The SUD sufferer will likely have to take more and more of the drug to get the same desired effect.

But while patients have been off the drug for a few days or weeks, they lose their resistance to it.  This becomes a dangerous risk when patients are sent back to their normal lives.

If they relapse and go back to the same drug, they might take the same dose they were taking before rehab. Only now they have less tolerance, and the reaction can be much more harmful, even deadly. That’s especially true if they immediately overdose.

Healthline also warns of the dangers of cross-tolerance, where a patient becomes tolerant of one drug, but the effect also applies to other drugs in the same class.

See: Why facilities sometimes discharge patients at night without warning.

The Two-Week Danger Zone

Some experts note that the first two weeks after discharge are often followed by a dangerous two-week period. Patients may be at a higher-risk of relapse and death. Their lost biological tolerance for a drug might contribute to this hazard.

But there are other important reasons that this difficult transitional time can lead to a relapse and harm:

• The stress of reentering normal life can add to the craving for a drug
• The possibility of patients connecting with the same social group that encourages drug use
• Patients with nowhere to go, perhaps immediately homeless, turn to drugs for emotional escape
• Families who aren’t properly prepared to help their loved ones may contribute to relapse temptation
• Ill-prepared patients are released by facilities as soon as their insurance coverage runs out (an illegal practice known as patient-dumping)
• Patients who are released without their families being notified
• Patients released without proper medication and therapy resources set-up

Drug rehab programs are supposed to have a detailed plan for discharge and the weeks that follow. When they fail to ensure patients have a place to go (e.g., a homeless shelter, a family home, a sober living home) and have a support group to depend on, they can be held liable for a tragic death. When they fail to warn families and patients about a drug tolerance danger, they are liable.

Families can file lawsuits and seek support to pay for funeral costs and leftover medical expenses. They can demand replacement of the income a loved one may have supported the family with.

Filing a Wrongful Death Claim If Your Loved One Dies After Discharge

Contact Us if Your Loved One Was Hurt at a Drug Rehab Facility.

Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free, confidential consultation to families after a loved one dies after being discharged from a California rehab. We help families gain support even if an at-fault rehab business was shut down after an accident. We help families who have had their cases turned down by other lawyers.

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

If you need our help, we are there, even if you don’t have any money. We only get paid if we win your case for your family. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check a negligent facility must write.