Sober living homes are meant to act as a stepping stone for people recovering from substance use disorder. Their purpose is to provide people with a structured and safe environment between intensive addiction treatment and independent living. However, there have been many deaths at sober homes across the United States, deaths that should never have happened.
When someone enters a sober house, family members expect their loved one will receive support and protection while they recover. The facilities are paid to protect them and watch over them. Unfortunately, many of these facilities are failing the families that trust them.
If you have lost a loved one because of a negligent drug treatment facility, you may have the right to file a lawsuit and hold the facility accountable. You can reach a lawyer at our office at 321-LAWSUIT. The consultation is free, and we only charge a fee if we recover money for you.
Common Causes of Death at Sober Home Facilities
People die while under the care of sober homes or drug treatment facilities in a number of ways. Most of these deaths are caused by outright negligence on the part of the facility and its staff.
In our experience, the most common reason people die in these places is because nobody is checking in on them. We often receive observation records or surveillance footage that proves the deceased person was left alone, even though they were supposed to be checked on every 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Below are some of the more common ways people die at sober homes or sober living houses.
Drug Overdoses
Even though sober homes claim to be drug free, people overdose at sober home facilities and die far too often. Drugs can enter the facility because of a lack of oversight or a lack of proper security measures. Patients obtain drugs from other residence or from an outsider bringing drugs onto the property.
Suicide
Vulnerable people also commit suicide at sober home facilities. Typically, this happens because the person getting treatment recognizes a pattern of failed checks. They will learn that a particular behavioral health technician or group of technicians do not perform checks, which provides them with a window of opportunity to commit suicide.
Untreated Medical Emergencies
Some deaths at sober homes result from untreated medical conditions or a delayed response to an emergency. Drug and alcohol addiction can cause serious health complications. When sober living houses don't ensure residents receive appropriate health care, or if they fail to respond properly to emergencies, residents can die.
Contributing Factors to Death at Sober Home Facilities
Several factors lie at the core of why so many people are dying in sober homes. When we handle a death case involving negligence at a sober home, there are almost always at least one of these factors at play.
Private Equity Influx
Whenever we are investigating a death case, we question staff members about the facility. Former staff members are often eager to share their stories and insight, as well as their opinion as to why someone may have died at the facility. One of the common things we hear from these people is that the facility went downhill after private equity got involved.
Generally, whistleblowers and former staff members will tell us that the facility shifted from focusing on residents to focusing solely on the bottom line as soon as private equity took over. Florida is a state where there has been tremendous influx of private equity investment in recent years. Accordingly, our experience tells us that this trend will lead to more deaths as facilities begin to focus more on cutting costs than providing dependable care.
Lack of Regulation and Oversight
The sober living industry is poorly regulated in many states, and this allows dangerous facilities to continue operating. In areas like Delray Beach and Palm Beach County, Florida, there have been widespread problems because of poor regulatory oversight. Ultimately, this regulatory vacuum enables exploitation and endangers residents who desperately need a safe and supportive environment for addiction recovery.
Regulatory Challenges
The Americans with Disabilities Act protects individuals with substance use disorder from housing discrimination, classifying addiction as a disability. While the ADA prevents discriminatory zoning against group homes and sober houses, it also limits local governments' ability to regulate these facilities. This creates a complex situation where protecting residents' rights can inadvertently enable dangerous operators of sober living houses.
Exploitation and Fraud
The rise of fraudulent sober living facilities has created a predatory industry that profits from addiction. In Florida, this scheme has been named, "The Florida Shuffle." A quick search on The Florida Shuffle will lead you to a litany of articles detailing the horrors of Florida's drug treatment industry.
Essentially, The Florida Shuffle is a harmful cycle where people with addiction get moved repeatedly between rehab centers, sober homes, and treatment facilities as a means of profit. Those involved make money by billing insurance over and over, sending patients back for more treatment even if they don't need it. It traps people in a loop of treatment and relapse because that's what makes the facilities involved the most money.
Inadequate Staffing
Many sober homes operate with minimal staffing. As a result, residents are left unsupervised and unsupported for dangerously long periods.
Vulnerable people with mental health issues are not supposed to be left alone in these settings. They are seeking treatment or their families have helped them get treatment so that they are supported and observed. The point of these facilities is to make sure the people trying to recover from substance abuse are safe and watched over.
Far too often, when we are investigating a death case against a sober home, we learn that the person who passed away was not properly observed. Often times, they were left alone with nobody to check on them in the hours leading up to their death. When someone dies like this, it is a complete betrayal of the resident and their family.
Inadequate Training
Whenever we are handling a case against a facility, we expect that the people involved were not trained properly. Behavioral health technicians and psych techs often have no experience before being hired to observe vulnerable individuals. Nevertheless, facilities will put unqualified techs in charge of far too many people, and this is a recipe for disaster.
Geographic Hotspots and Problem Areas
South Florida has become notorious for sober home, recovery housing, and drug treatment programs. Some have gotten national attention for all the deaths and scandals. The concentration of addiction treatment centers in South Florida attracted both legitimate operators and predatory businesses seeking to exploit the recovery industry. Delray Beach and Palm Beach sober homes particularly gained attention after multiple drug overdoses and reports of widespread fraud.
What to Do After a Death at Sober Home
If you've lost a loved one in a sober living facility, documentation is critical. Be sure to preserve all communications with the facility, as well as any medical records you have obtained related to their substance use disorder treatment. These facilities will actively try to cover up negligence, and thus it's critical to save documents and communications to hold them accountable.
Contact a Sober Home Negligence Lawyer at Our Office
Deaths at sober homes are preventable tragedies. Families trust these facilities and pay them well to protect their loved ones. That's the facility's main job, and they are failing families every year.
Although there are quality sober living facilities that provide invaluable support for people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, many are reckless and put lives at risk. If you lost a loved one because of a negligent drug treatment facility, we are here to stand with you and hold these facilities accountable.Call us at 321-LAWSUIT for a free legal consultation. If we can take your case, you do not have to pay anything up front. We only get paid when we successfully resolve your case.