When you have a family member in a drug rehab facility in California, it’s a very fragile situation. You place a lot of trust in these places that they’ll keep your loved one safe—especially from relapses of their drug use. Unfortunately, fentanyl and other drugs still find their way in and that puts everybody at risk. Our California drug rehab facility negligence lawyers at Maison Law can answer questions and guide you through the process of filing a claim. Set up a free consultation today.
How Can I Prove That My Family Member Died of a Fentanyl Overdose in a Rehab Facility?
Just because your family member is in a drug rehab facility doesn’t mean they won’t come into contact with contraband like fentanyl. This is a rather helpless feeling, but facility management is going to do what they can in terms of security and policy to make sure that doesn’t happen.
This isn’t just a matter of what they should do, either. It’s actually a legal requirement. Still, there’s always gaps and that’s where problems like fentanyl overdoses creep in. It’s a situation you don’t want to be in, but if it does happen, it’s important to know how to approach it in terms of proof:
- Confirm that an overdose happened. This is the starting point. You’ll want medical records, toxicology reports, and possibly even a death certificate that shows your family member died via fentanyl overdose.
- Try to get security footage or entry logs. Most likely, the rehab facility is going to have cameras in common areas and entry points. Looking at any footage, visitor logs, or keycard swipes can show who entered the building or specific areas around the time of the incident.
- Ask for the facility’s internal incident report. There should also be internal reports when a serious overdose or some other emergency happens. These reports will probably show when staff found your family member, what they saw, and how they responded to it.
- Get pictures/videos of the scene. Pictures and/or videos of the room, personal belongings, or anything related to drug use may help show what happened and how the substance may have been used or brought into the facility.
- Review staff monitoring logs. Staff has to check on patients regularly. Monitoring logs can show when staff last checked on your family member and whether those checks actually happened.
- Talk with people who were there. Other patients, staff members, or visitors may have seen or heard something important. Sometimes they notice warning signs or events that never make it into official reports.
- Get 911 records. Paramedic reports and 911 call records can help put together the timeline of what happened and how quickly staff responded once the overdose was found.
- Get a copy of the rehab facility’s policies. Rehab facilities have to follow certain safety rules. Reviewing those policies can help you figure out whether the facility followed their own procedures to prevent or respond to the overdose.
- Keep any messages or emails. Text messages, emails, or calls between your family member and others can help show what they were going through in the days or hours before the incident.
Ultimately, it’s going to come down to documentation that the facility isn’t going to be keen on giving up. Even though it’s a hurdle, it doesn’t change your ability to take action on behalf of your family member.
What Options Do I Have If a Family Member Overdoses on Fentanyl?
It’s pretty easy to understand why letting fentanyl into a drug rehab facility is so dangerous. But when it happens to your family member, it’s different. It’s personal. And while it’s obviously something you don’t want to have to face, it’s important to know what your options are if it does happen to your family. Generally, you have a couple of options:
- Filing an insurance claim against the facility.
- Filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Insurance is usually the starting point. Drug rehab facilities are supposed to carry liability insurance, so you can file a claim with that policy. From there, the insurance company will investigate and decide whether to accept or deny the claim. If they accept the claim, they’ll offer your family a settlement. This can be quicker than the next option.
Filing a wrongful death lawsuit moves the claim into the court system. It’s a more involved process, but it takes the decision out of the insurance company’s hands and puts it in front of a judge or jury who can review the evidence and decide on your family’s “damages” that include things like:
- Medical expenses related to the overdose and emergency care
- Funeral and burial costs
- The loss of financial support the person may have provided
- Emotional suffering experienced by surviving family members
- Loss of companionship and support
Remember, there’s a time limit in place. You and your family only have two years from the date of the death to file. That might sound like a long time, but it can go by quickly. Evidence can disappear, surveillance footage can be deleted, and witnesses can move or become harder to find. The sooner you start, the better your chances are.
Maison Law Can Help Families After a Fatal Fentanyl Overdose in a California Rehab Facility
When your family member is in a drug rehab facility in California, you’re already dealing with a lot. But when they die from a fentanyl overdose, it brings up questions that are incredibly hard to answer. No matter what the facility says, such an incident should never happen. At Maison Law, our team can help your family through the claims process. Set up a free consultation today.
