Lucid News reports
n the case of a misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment, where does the responsibility lie? This question is at the center of a wrongful death civil lawsuit filed against MAPS that will be considered by a jury at a public trial in Monterey Superior Court beginning on October 31.
The lawsuit stems from the death of 20-year-old Baylee Ybarra Gatlin in 2017 after she attended the Lightning in a Bottle music festival in Monterey County, California. During the event, Gatlin was a guest at a care space run by the Zendo Project. The trial will determine whether MAPS is negligent in the wrongful death of Gatlin and if they are liable for financial damages.
The lawsuit was filed in 2018 by Gatlin’s mother Susan Ybarra-Telias and stepmother Carla Gatlin. Other defendants included Do Lab, Inc., the LiB festival producer, and RGX Medical, which provided medic services at LiB, as well as RGX Medical founder Richard Gottlieb, and up to twenty unnamed people connected to these organizations that the Gatlin family contends share some responsibility for liability and damages in their daughter’s death. The Zendo Project was initially named as a defendant, but was dismissed at the request of MAPS.
The Gatlin family reached a settlement last year with the Do Lab, RGX Medical, and Richard Gottlieb for $4 million, which was paid by the Do Lab’s insurance company. RGX continues to provide medical services to Lightning in a Bottle.
MAPS was not a party in the settlement. A motion filed in the case on July 12, 2022 by their lawyers noted that MAPS was “uninsured for this case.” As the Zendo Project was part of MAPS in 2017, it was also uninsured for the services it was providing.
In preparation for this article, Lucid News reached out to MAPS, the Zendo Project, RGX Medical, Gottlieb, attorneys for the Gatlin family and the Do Lab, and Sara Gael Giron, who was serving as Director of Harm Reduction for the Zendo Project in 2017. They declined to comment. Rick Doblin, MAPS founder and executive director, spoke with Lucid News about the case in July.
The Death of Baylee Gatlin
Harm reduction is “a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use,” according to the National Harm Reduction Coalition.
Read more at https://www.lucid.news/maps-trial-wrongful-death-lawsuit/
