Jason Deitch is the owner of I-Need-a-Personal-Injury-Lawyer.com, a Boca Raton, Florida-based service that helps people select the best personal injury attorney for their case. He launched the website in September 2009. Here, he talks about wrongful death and drugs.
You might remember the DJ AM wrongful death case: The famous DJ, whose real name was Adam Goldstein, was found dead of a drug overdose in his apartment in 2009, after reportedly recovering from burn injuries that resulted from a 2008 plane crash in which the pilot and co-pilot died. His estate sued several companies, as well as the estates of the two deceased pilots, for wrongful death, saying he was “forced to take various drugs for the burns and emotional distress he suffered as a result of the crash.” Even though his death was ruled accidental, his estate is claiming that post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt caused him to overdose.
The reality is, DJ AM already had drug problems in the past. But something called the eggshell skull doctrine (sometimes called the thin skull rule) says the defendant has to take the plaintiff as he comes. This means the injurer is liable to the full extent despite any pre-existing vulnerabilities of the plaintiff.
If somebody has never had a problem with drugs, suffers a back injury, and gets addicted to painkillers as a result, you can prove to the jury that he wouldn’t have become a drug addict if not for the injury. But if the same case is made on behalf of a drug addict, the case could go either way. You would have a much harder time proving to the jury that he became addicted as a result of his injury. Of cases like this that go to trial, only a small amount are successful. Now, somebody with a prior addiction who has been clean for awhile but had a relapse as a result of prescribed drugs for an injury could be successful in such a case, but would have a more difficult time. Most of these wrongful death cases will settle, and rarely will a case be tried on that issue alone: Other physical or economic damage would have to be involved.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
I am an addictions specialist who worked with Adam Goldstein on his last project, a documentary on addiction for MTV. I specialize in addiction education. Adam had 11 years sobriety without a relapse of any kind. Adam still attended AA meetings almost every day after 11 years (something only about one percent of recovering addicts do after such a long time). He took every precaution, protected his sobriety in every possible way we ask our clients to do.
The Xanax prescribed to Adam by his PTSD therapist triggered the part of the brain that led him back into addictive behavior, ultimately leading to his overdose and death.
Based on these facts, if they are presented clearly in court, would you consider his family's case viable?
Another issue we in the recovery community are frustrated about is the ignorance of this therapist that he would prescribe a controlled substance to a recovering addict. Adam repeatedly went back to him saying he felt guilty using the Xanax and fearing for his sobriety, and each time the therapist told Adam he was being too hard on himself, that he had just survived a plane crash and “needed” these drugs, and on a couple of occasions even increased Adam's dosage. This is incredibly irresponsible behavior by this doctor. Is there a viable case against him for wrongful death?
I appreciate your time.
Bj Hickman – December 9, 2009 , 12:09 AM
I am an addictions specialist who worked with Adam Goldstein on his last project, a documentary on addiction for MTV. I specialize in addiction education. Adam had 11 years sobriety without a relapse of any kind. Adam still attended AA meetings almost every day after 11 years (something only about one percent of recovering addicts do after such a long time). He took every precaution, protected his sobriety in every possible way we ask our clients to do.
The Xanax prescribed to Adam by his PTSD therapist triggered the part of the brain that led him back into addictive behavior, ultimately leading to his overdose and death.
Based on these facts, if they are presented clearly in court, would you consider his family's case viable?
Another issue we in the recovery community are frustrated about is the ignorance of this therapist that he would prescribe a controlled substance to a recovering addict. Adam repeatedly went back to him saying he felt guilty using the Xanax and fearing for his sobriety, and each time the therapist told Adam he was being too hard on himself, that he had just survived a plane crash and “needed” these drugs, and on a couple of occasions even increased Adam's dosage. This is incredibly irresponsible behavior by this doctor. Is there a viable case against him for wrongful death?
I appreciate your time.
Bj Hickman – December 9, 2009 , 5:09 AM