The estate of a West Virginia (WV) man is set to receive $1 million in a settlement with Prestera Center, a mental health and rehabilitation company with several offices in the state. According to the Charleston Gazette, staff at the comapny’s facility in Dunbar, WV, failed to detect or treat the man’s cocaine overdose and ultimately fatal drug intoxication after police brought him in on September 16, 2009.
State regulations mandate staff checks every 15 minutes for patients uBecause he appeared to be under the influnder the influence of drugs, but Prestera staff left the man alone for several hours. An autopsy revealed the man had taken cocaine, methadone and the antiaxiety medication alprazalom before passing away. It is possible that timely and appropriate treatment could have prevented the man’s death.
The $1 million settlement of the wrongful death suit will be most likely be divided among the man’s immediate family, and an additional $20,000 will cover expenses such as his medical bills and funeral costs. Many may consider this less of a tragedy because the victim was abusing drugs, and some may even think he got what was coming to him. But he was a person, just like everyone else. He just needed help, which the rehabilitation center failed to provide.
My West Virginia wrongful death attorney and medical negligence colleagues and I understand that people are people. When anyone is hurt by medical malpractice or negligence, that person and their families may be entitled to compensation.
MH