Overview
Cohen Milstein represents Denise and Francis Mann, the parents of Nathan Francis Mann, in a wrongful death and medical negligence lawsuit against Caron of Florida, Inc. d/b/a Caron Renaissance, a nationally recognized substance use provider operating in Palm Beach County, Florida.
The lawsuit centers on the events that led to the death of 18-year-old Nathan Mann, a high-achieving student and talented cellist who was fatally struck by a train after walking away from the Caron Renaissance facility in September 2020. Plaintiffs allege that Caron failed to provide appropriate treatment, monitoring, and care for Nathan—who had a well-documented history of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders—and that these failures directly contributed to his death.
Nathan’s Background
Nathan was a gifted young man from Pennsylvania, who had earned a full scholarship to Temple University’s Boyer College of Music. He had struggled with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and OCD from an early age but maintained strong academic and musical performance throughout his youth. As the pressures of young adulthood mounted, Nathan began misusing alcohol and cough syrup containing dextromethorphan (DXM) to cope with stress, leading his parents to admit him to Caron Pennsylvania’s 30-day inpatient program in May 2020.
Caron’s Pennsylvania staff strongly recommended Nathan continue treatment at Caron Renaissance in Florida. According to sworn declarations, Nathan’s parents were initially reluctant to send him out of state but were assured the Florida facility specialized in dual-diagnosis treatment for young adults and would “get Nathan’s medication straightened out.” They were also told that Caron’s College Success Program would support his transition to college.
Treatment and Deterioration at Caron Renaissance
Nathan was admitted to Caron Renaissance in June 2020. His family claims that, despite Caron’s representations, Nathan’s mental health deteriorated during his stay and his treatment plan failed to address his underlying conditions:
- Medication Concerns: Caron discontinued Nathan’s ADHD medication despite its neuropsychological testing that confirmed marked ADHD symptomatology. His anxiety, OCD, and depressive symptoms were also identified as clinically significant, and plaintiffs assert that his medication regimen lacked coordination among providers and disregarded input from family.
- Therapeutic Environment: According to court filings and sworn declarations, Caron implemented a confrontational group therapy model that plaintiffs contend was psychologically damaging for a patient with Nathan’s history. Nathan was reportedly required to read materials on antisocial personality traits, disclose personal traumas in group settings, and endure public critiques of his character. Nathan was also subject to an alleged behavioral management restriction described by staff as “house arrest” which isolated him from his peers and restricted him from participating in group meals, social events and community activities for nearly 40 of the 84 days he was at Caron.
- Suppression of Support Systems: Family contact was tightly restricted. Parents were not permitted to call Nathan directly and were informed that advocating for his medical care was interfering with his recovery. According to Nathan’s father, most calls were focused on ways to “hold Nathan accountable,” with requests to withdraw music lessons or his college opportunity as leverage.
- Loss of Therapeutic Outlets: Nathan’s access to music—described by both parents as his primary emotional outlet—was sharply curtailed. Caron staff allegedly encouraged the Manns to use his cello instruction and scholarship to Temple as tools for compliance, over the family’s objection.
- Missed Signs of Crisis: Plaintiffs allege that Caron failed to recognize or appropriately respond to escalating signs of distress. Nathan exhibited hair-pulling, skin-picking, obsessive thoughts, and increased emotional instability in the weeks before his death. A few days before his disappearance, he was taken to the emergency room for severe nausea, vomiting, and headaches, but later returned to Caron.
Final Events and Outcome
On the night of September 11, 2020, Denise Mann received an unexpected call from Nathan asking her to cancel his cello lessons and abruptly hung up. Unable to return Nathan’s call, she emailed Caron staff who responded that he was “fine” and “in his bed.” Nathan was last seen on campus security footage the next afternoon, walking away without his phone, ID, or financial resources. Caron notified his parents but declined to contact law enforcement. When the Manns filed a missing person report themselves, Caron reportedly refused to cooperate with the investigation and initially gave an inaccurate description of what Nathan was wearing.
Nathan was fatally struck by a train in Broward County early on September 14, 2020. His body remained unidentified until September 25. A postmortem toxicology report listed the presence of DXM and alcohol.
Legal Allegations
The Second Amended Complaint asserts the following claims:
- Medical Negligence including failure to appropriately assess and treat Nathan’s deteriorating mental health;
- Negligent Hiring, Supervision, and Retention of clinical staff, including assigning an unlicensed intern as Nathan’s primary therapist without disclosure to the family;
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty based on representations that Caron would provide safe, individualized care by an interdisciplinary team of physicians, psychologists and counselors;
- Violation of Florida’s Vulnerable Adult Statute (Fla. Stat. § 415.1111);
- Failure to implement or follow critical incident response protocols, including delayed law enforcement notification.
Recent Developments
- August 23, 2023: Plaintiffs filed a detailed Second Amended Complaint.
- August 30, 2023: The court denied, in part, Caron’s motion to dismiss.
- July 6, 2025: The court denied Caron’s motion for summary judgment on causation and foreseeability, allowing the case to proceed to trial.
Trial is expected later this summer in Palm Beach County. Cohen Milstein remains committed to seeking justice for Nathan’s family and to promoting greater transparency and accountability among behavioral health and substance use disorder providers—particularly those entrusted with the care of vulnerable young adults.