Most drug rehab facilities in Kentucky work the way they’re supposed to. That means a close eye is kept on patients because they’re incredibly fragile and vulnerable. When that doesn’t happen, it’s pretty easy to see how injuries can happen. At that point, it’s a question of your options. Our team at Kaufman & Stigger can answer these questions and help you through the process. Set up a free consultation today.
Can Rehab Facilities Be Liable If They Leave Me Unattended?
Legally speaking, drug rehab facilities in Kentucky have a basic duty to make sure patients are kept safe while under their care. A huge part of that duty involves monitoring patients—not in an invasion of privacy way, but in a way that heads off problems before they start. To do that, facilities have to maintain:
- Appropriate staff-to-patient ratios
- Control over what enters the facility, including medications and contraband
- Working security cameras and supervision in common areas
- Clear procedures for reporting medical or safety concerns
- Prompt responses to maintenance or safety hazards
In practice, all of these things work together. When they’re kept up, the facility can keep a close eye on patients in a safe way and more importantly, can respond quickly if someone needs help. But when even one part of the system breaks down, you and other patients can end up being left alone when you shouldn’t be because of:
- Staffing shortages
- Poor communication
- Broken equipment
- Ignored safety procedures
What all of these situations have in common are injury risks. Being left unattended simply shouldn’t happen in this kind of environment, but it does. And when it does and you’re hurt, you have options.
What Are My Options If I’m Hurt After Being Left Unattended?
From a legal standpoint, situations like this can fall under negligence. Rehab facilities have a duty to provide reasonable care and supervision to the people in their programs. If someone is injured because that supervision wasn’t there, the facility may be responsible.
If you’re hurt after being left unattended, there are generally two ways these situations move forward:
- Filing an insurance claim. Drug rehab facilities are still businesses, which means they have to carry liability insurance for situations where someone is injured on the property. When you’re hurt, this is the policy you’ll file against. This process also happens outside of court, so it’s less formal. Unfortunately, though, the insurance company controls everything, and they’re more worried about saving money.
- Filing a personal injury lawsuit. If the insurance process doesn’t fix the situation—or if their settlement offer doesn’t fully cover your losses—a personal injury lawsuit may be your best option. That means taking the case into civil court, where a judge or jury can look at the evidence and decide what happened.
Either way, filing a claim is about getting “damgages” for your:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Lost income or reduced earning ability
- Replacement of damaged personal property
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Changes to independence or daily life
- Funeral and burial costs in fatal cases
Timing is also important in Kentucky. In many situations, injury claims have to be filed within one year of the date of the injury. That should be enough reason to act quickly, but there’s also practical reasons to file as soon as you can—things like security footage, internal reports, or witness statements that help show exactly what happened tend to disappear quickly. Our team can help you through this process though.
Reach Out to Kaufman & Stigger If You Were Hurt in a Kentucky Rehab Facility
When you enter a drug rehab facility in Kentucky, you expect a certain level of supervision and care. After all, these programs are supposed to provide a safe and structured place to focus on recovery. But when patients are left unattended, that safety can disappear quickly.
If you or someone you care about was injured after being left alone in a Kentucky drug rehab facility, it may help to talk through what happened with a legal team that understands these cases. At Kaufman & Stigger, we can help by:
- Looking closely at how and why you were left unattended
- Gathering medical records, internal reports, and other key evidence
- Handling communication with the facility and its insurance company
- Explaining your options in clear, straightforward terms
- Giving you the space to focus on healing while we handle the legal side
You shouldn’t have to deal with the fallout of a preventable injury on your own—especially if you’re in treatment at a Kentucky drug rehab facility. Reach out to our team today for a free consultation and let us walk you through your options.
