Atlanta rehab center settles $77M lawsuit over discharged patient’s death

Case records show MARR asked the appeals court on March 27 to remand the case back to the trial court for approval of the settlement. The request was granted Tuesday.

“The parties have reached an agreement to settle the case, which requires judicial approval,” the appeals court said in its order, adding that MARR can revive its appeal if the settlement is not approved.

Representatives of MARR did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions about the settlement. Lawyers for the Carusillo family declined to comment.

While litigating the case, MARR denied it was responsible for Carusillo’s death.

MARR argued Carusillo killed himself by walking naked in the middle of the night onto I-85, where he was struck by oncoming vehicles Sept. 22, 2017.

The rehab center said in case filings that Carusillo, a drug and alcohol addict with bipolar disorder, was discharged Sept. 19, 2017, for violating several of its rules since joining its drug and alcohol treatment program Aug. 29, 2017.

Carusillo had been warned further rule violations would lead to his discharge, MARR said. It said staff recommended to Carusillo and his parents that he go into a more intensive treatment facility, but Carusillo refused.

MARR said the doctor overseeing Carusillo at its facility had discontinued one of his bipolar medications after the patient complained about the side effects. It said Carusillo, who had been in and out of addiction treatment facilities for years, was moved from MARR to a sober living facility in Dunwoody on Sept. 19, 2017.

That facility, Perimeter Recovery Residence, discharged Carusillo after one night because he broke curfew, case filings show.

Carusillo’s family settled its claims against Perimeter and its owner before trial.

At trial, the family argued Carusillo was “medically stable” when he was admitted to MARR, but that his condition deteriorated after MARR’s chief medical officer discontinued one of his bipolar medications and reduced another Sept. 5, 2017. That happened despite repeated warnings from Carusillo’s relatives and long-term therapist about the importance of him staying on his medications, the family said.

Carusillo’s autopsy revealed he had no illegal drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death, his family said.

On Sept. 19 that year, MARR refused to keep Carusillo until his father in North Carolina could collect him, the family said. Carusillo’s father told MARR staff that if they discharged Carusillo without his medication, he would end up dead on the streets of Atlanta, the family added.

MARR staff failed to tell Perimeter’s owner about Carusillo’s long-term mental health issues, the family claimed, adding Perimeter’s owner took Carusillo to an alcohol anonymous meeting, after which Carusillo’s whereabouts were unknown until his death.

The jury found MARR failed to properly train its employees and was responsible for their conduct.

After the verdict Tina Carusillo told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution her son’s “heartbreaking” death did not have to happen.

“Nick would be glad and proud of us for pushing so hard,” she said at the time. “He was always the advocate for the underdog. We loved him more than life. We would do anything to have him back.”