Following a death at a court-ordered inpatient treatment program, ThePhillyLawyers holds the rehab facility accountable and recovers a substantial award for the decedent’s family.
Right before the holidays, ThePhillyLawyers receives a phone call from a distraught mother. She hardly gets out the words “they killed my son.” At that moment, we drop everything, and we meet with the family. Damien’s family gathered; they are upset, confused, angry, and sad. The resounding questions are how did Damien die at a drug treatment program? And why an inpatient drug program allowed one of their residents to die?
Damien had been a young man who struggled, for much of his life, with drug addiction. After he was kicked out of a court-ordered drug program, the judge required Damien to stay at an inpatient drug program with conditions that he not leave without a facility chaperone.
One family member remembers what the judge said: since Damien was at risk of relapsing, the drug program was to provide one-on-one supervision. We discuss this fact—since Damien was supposed to have one-on-one supervision, how could he have died of an overdose at the program?
Damien’s mother hires ThePhillyLawyers to investigate the death of her son.
Not surprisingly, the drug program denies they were at fault. They deny they were negligent. They deny any wrongdoing whatsoever. But ThePhillyLawyers digs in. We look closely at the drug program, Damien’s participation in the program, and the events preceding his death. We uncover alarming facts. When we comb through the records and investigate, we determine that on a number of occasions, Damien had actually been able to leave the facility. Worse yet, the drug treatment facility did not search or drug test him when he returned.
Keep in mind, the facility had rules. Lots of policies and procedures. But while those policies and procedures looked good on paper, they were not enforced. That is, Damien should have never been able to leave and return to the drug program. Also, after Damien returned, staff should have searched and drug tested him. Not only are these steps and precautions commonsense, since Damien was struggling with drug addiction, but the program’s own policies and procedures actually required it.
He should not have been able to leave. He should have had one-on-one supervision. He should have been drug tested. He should have been searched upon his return to the program. Had all, or perhaps even any, of these safety precautions been taken, Damien would still be alive.
Unfortunately, on paper the drug treatment program was one facility, but, in reality, it was another. The program’s staff had gotten lax about the rules. And when the rules weren’t followed, that permitted this deadly consequence. Because Damien was: not properly supervised; permitted to leave; not drug tested; and not searched, he died of a drug overdose that night at the drug treatment program.
ThePhillyLawyers prepared the case, hired experts, and filed a lawsuit based on the drug program’s negligence—their professional liability—that resulted in Damien’s wrongful death.
The drug program’s lawyers fought back against our lawsuit, and they argued the drug program did nothing wrong. But ThePhillyLawyers was determined to achieve justice; we fought hard. In the end, we were able to achieve a substantial recovery for Damien’s family and his estate.
The way we practice—as we share through this sad story—is the way to win large awards. We investigate. We prepare. And we fight.
If you, or someone you care about, has been severely injured, or died, while at a drug treatment center, rehab, halfway house, or any kind of program, you need a lawyer with experience who will invest the time, energy, and resources necessary to hold the facility/program accountable to achieve justice and proper compensation for you, your family, and your loved one’s estate.
