California Injury Blog
September 10, 2012-Orange County, California-Regulations that make no sense, lack of uniform enforcement, and inadequate supervision were all reasons the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes gave for blaming the State of California for ten deaths at rehabilitation facilities across the state, according to the Orange County Register. The decision means that families of these victims may be able to recover damages from the state for these wrongful death claims.
According to the report, two of the seven facilities cited for ignoring dangerous conditions were located in Orange County. The report claims that patients were given the wrong medications or dosages, were left unchecked so that several died without anyone knowing, and were not served properly with attention to physical or mental illnesses.
Why Do Rehabilitation Facilities Have Such Strict Standards?
By law, these facilities are not allowed to provide medical treatment. There purpose is to work with recovering drug and alcohol addicts to give them the tools they need to kick their habits. Unfortunately, many of these facilities are actively flouting the law by ignoring this restriction and providing detoxification services, including the administration of detox drugs. When a rehabilitation facility takes on this role, it has now become a medical facility and as such is subject to all state and federal standards governing these locations.
What Is A Wrongful Death Claim?
Wrongful death occurs when someone takes some action or neglects to take some action, and this leads to the death of another person. In this case, the lack of monitoring and the spotty drug administration may have led to the death of some of the victims, and this would mean that the facility has caused a wrongful death. Wrongful death claims allow the family of the victim to collect damages for their loss.
Will These Facilities be Found Liable?
It is possible that the families in these cases can win wrongful death suits, but it is not guaranteed. There can be mitigating factors in these cases that may lower the amount the families collect. When people are addicted to drugs, they can die from withdrawal even if a facility takes every precaution to protect them. In order to prove that the facilities were at fault and responsible for the deaths, these families will need the help of an attorney who specializes in these cases. With the assistance of a wrongful death lawyer in Newport Beach, the families will stand a much better chance of recovering damages.