Feldman Shepherd attorneys Mark W. Tanner and Peter N. Newman represented the family of a student at a prominent University in Philadelphia for claims arising from the young man’s death-by-drug overdose in a dorm owned by the University.
The University’s policies and procedures, as well as those of the contractor providing security services for the building, prevented the student from receiving timely treatment and intervention which would have saved his life. The inactions of the University and the security services contractor resulted in a tragic delay in identifying the student’s need for assistance, and ultimately in a failure to render aid in time to save his life.
Philadelphia is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, with more than 1,200 residents overdosing in 2017 alone. This epidemic strikes persons from all walks of life. Area schools, universities, and colleges that provide housing to their students have a responsibility to understand this fact, and implement guidelines and procedures to adequately identify and treat those who are at-risk.