http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-public-bathrooms-opioid-overdose-20180510-story.html
This article talks about how common it is for people to use opioids in public bathrooms. It is dangerous and usually, the business where these fatal incidents occur face liability issues:
"Just this month, Cook County sheriff’s officers revived a man who allegedly overdosed in the bathroom of the Skokie courthouse, while another man died of a suspected overdose in the restroom of a Downers Grove Starbucks. Experts say the seclusion afforded by these spaces makes them dangerous, especially as fentanyl has increased the potency of heroin to unpredictably strong levels... Researchers in the late 1990s examined hundreds of heroin deaths in San Francisco and discovered that 5 percent took place in restrooms."
Do you feel these businesses should be held responsible? Should they start developing rules/codes to reduce/prevent this from happening? Any other thoughts are encouraged.
I don't know that businesses should be held responsible because I'm not sure how they can figure out who will be using opioids and who won't, and I worry that this will result in profiling and unwarranted searches of people...Maybe the businesses should put specific signs of no opioid abuse (although this may result in a loss of customers of people who won't want to be in a restaurant or other business where it is specifically advertised that drugs are not allowed (because they won't want to be near drug users)). So...I don't know what can be done about this issue.
ReplyDeleteI don't really see how the business could be held responsible. They cannot be expected to identify and refuse use of bathrooms to opioid addicts. Overdoses in these types of restrooms make sense, but that doesn't mean the business should be held accountable.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The business should not take responsibility for such personal behaviors. The idea of medical wastes bins is appropriate and suitable in applying such cases.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that businesses should not be held responsible. Although they should think about adding medical waste bins as to help curve biohazard waste from being left in public where others could potential get hurt.
DeleteI don't think businesses should take responsibility for such instances in bathrooms open to the public. However, since these activities are on the rise I wouldn't be shocked to see businesses increase the privatization of their restrooms.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The part that sucks is that companies actually are being sued for this. I feel for the addicts, but this is unfair.
DeleteLike most comments, I don't see how businesses should be held responsible. Public restrooms are still private places for individuals and businesses should not be responsible for regulating proper use of their restrooms. I do agree with Travis' comment about the addition of medical waste bins, but that is just leaving evidence behind of illegal drug use...
ReplyDelete