'Utterly intolerable': Lawsuit says Indyarea mental health facility abused juvenile patient, held her against her will
Oct 29, 2024
LAWRENCE, Ind. — A new lawsuit filed against an Indianapolis-area mental health facility claims a juvenile patient was abused, held against her will and subjected to "intolerable" abuse while receiving treatment last month.
The lawsuit was filed on Oct. 7 in Marion County court against Options Behavioral Health in Lawrence and parent company Acadia Healthcare. The suit was filed by the father of a young girl who was allegedly held against her will while being tortured in the facility in September.
The Indiana father filed the lawsuit after his daughter had an "atrocious and utterly intolerable" experience at Options that went "beyond all possible bounds of decency."
The suit describes how, after an overdose in early September, a juvenile girl was recommended for inpatient mental health care at Options. She was subsequently placed in "one-to-one" monitoring at Options for her own safety.
However, the girl's father says she was never safe once she got to Options.
Among the claims in the lawsuit, the father says that his daughter was housed in unsanitary units and that she did not receive any therapy, psychiatric evaluation or one-to-one monitoring. In fact, the girl was reportedly involved in three separate fights in just her first day at Options.
The fights, which involved a male patient housed in the same unit as the girl, were reportedly not addressed properly by staff and were allowed to continue. No intervention was made, and the girl was forced to stay in the same unit with the male she'd fought with, the suit says.
Rather than take proper safety measures, the father claims that Options staff instead threatened patients with "the shot" if they were creating commotion or additional work for employees. The lawsuit claims "the shot" is a "highly potent intramuscular injection containing diphenhydramine, haloperidol, and lorazepam."
According to the father, the shot would cause patients to sleep for hours on end or make them unaware of their surroundings and unable to protect themselves from harm.
In addition to the medical malpractice claims, the father also argues that his daughter was "held against her will" at the Options facility until Sept. 13. This, the lawsuit claims, was despite the fact that both family members and medical doctors were asking for her to be transferred elsewhere.
Further, the lawsuit claims that both family members and regular care providers were prevented from speaking to the juvenile girl while she was being held at Options. Any efforts to get her out of the facility were reportedly thwarted.
The lawsuit argues that, rather than helping improve her mental health, the juvenile girl's mental health declined while at Options. Once she was released from Options nearly two weeks later, the girl reportedly received treatment that improved her condition in a matter of days.
Since her time at Options, the girl has reportedly moved from one-to-one observation to residential care. She has also resumed schoolwork since being released, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit claims that it is an "established business practice" at Options to hold patients for the maximum amount of time allowed by their insurance. Furthermore, the suit says the patient suffered "tremendous harm" due to Options staff remaining "willfully ignorant" to her needs. These harms allegedly include both physical injuries and grave fear of mental health treatment.
The father lists eight alleged criminal acts against Options and Acadia in his lawsuit:
Medical Negligence
Violations of Indiana Crime Victim's Relief Act
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Willful and Wanton Conduct
General Negligence
Racketeering Activity
Battery
Failure to Protect
The lawsuit ends by demanding that both Options Behavioral Health System and Acadia Healthcare Company be tried in court by a jury on all issues. The father is seeking compensation for injuries, punitive damages and attorney fees.