A Marin County jury has returned a verdict of nearly $9.1 million against a San Rafael detox center over the death of a client.
Rahul Pinto, a San Jose tech entrepreneur who was an alcoholic, was admitted to the Bayside Marin Treatment Center in January 2017.
“Decedent was drinking a half-pint of vodka per day, and on that day of admission he had consumed four ounces of vodka at 7:00 a.m. and four ounces at 10:00 a.m.,” Bradley Corsiglia, a lawyer for Pinto’s widow, wrote in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Pinto’s blood-alcohol content when he was admitted was measured at 0.313%, Corsiglia wrote. By comparison, the legal limit for driving is 0.08%.
Within 24 hours of his arrival, Pinto, having gone outside to smoke a cigarette, fell down a set of stairs while returning to his room, the lawsuit said. It noted that the staircase was slippery from rain.
Pinto, 41, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and gastrointestinal bleeding, spent six weeks at MarinHealth Medical Center, was transferred to a San Francisco hospital, underwent another round of surgery and eventually had a stroke. He died about six months after his fall.
Pinto’s wife, Kimberly Sandoval, sued the detox center; its parent company, Acadia Healthcare; and Dr. Raymond Deutsch, who initially treated Pinto. The lawsuit alleged the detox center was understaffed and that it was negligent for allowing Pinto, shaky and unstable from alcohol withdrawal and medications, to leave his room and use the stairs without supervision.
The case went to trial in March before Judge Andrew Sweet in Marin County Superior Court. Jury deliberations began on Thursday, the 14th day of the trial. The jurors returned the verdict on Friday.
The jury found both Acadia Healthcare and Pinto to be negligent, but it assigned 99% percent of the responsibility for his death to the corporation. It awarded $5 million to Sandoval for emotional damage; about $1.65 million to Sandoval for monetary damage; and about $2.4 million to Pinto’s estate for the cost of medical care and lost earnings.
“With its verdict, the jury concluded that my client’s husband’s tragic death was preventable had Acadia/Bayside Marin Treatment Center provided the proper staffing that was trained to provide the services he required to safely get him through detox,” Corsiglia said Tuesday. “It is our hope that they will institute the appropriate policies and procedures to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring in the future.”
The defense can now file motions seeking to overturn the verdict, a process that could take several months, said Raymond McMahon, one of the attorneys for the detox center.
“We strongly believe that Bayside Marin’s staff provided appropriate care and was not responsible for the patient’s unfortunate accident,” McMahon said. “When the incident occurred in early 2017, the facility was not cited for any deficiency in our patient care or for any violation of law. We believe we have strong post-trial motions and appellate arguments.”
Acadia Healthcare, which is based in Tennessee, did not respond to a request for comment. The company operates 250 centers in 39 states and Puerto Rico, according to its website.
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