Survivors' Rights

Lieff Cabraser is investigating allegations of abuse of patients and residents at Acadia Healthcare facilities, the largest stand-alone behavioral health services provider in the U.S.

Acadia serves children and adults in inpatient psychiatric hospitals, specialty treatment facilities, residential treatment centers, and outpatient clinic settings. Acadia has 250 facilities nationwide across 39 states and Puerto Rico, but despite Acadia’s stated mission of providing “excellent care and support” including to children and youths for behavioral health and addiction disorders, the company has faced heightened scrutiny and numerous lawsuits alleging abuse at Acadia facilities.

At least two U.S. Senators have initiated a formal investigation into abuse at facilities housing special needs children and youths with mental health issues, including Acadia. A report by the National Disability Rights Network detailed allegations of inappropriate physical restraints, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse at for-profit treatment centers, citing examples at Acadia facilities including an incident where a 9-year-old was injected with antihistamines as punishment at an Acadia facility in Montana.

Acadia facilities have faced closures, lawsuits, and regulatory issues, including a youth treatment center in New Mexico shut down amid abuse allegations and the closure of 10 facilities in Arkansas following manslaughter charges against staff members for leaving a 5-year-old boy strapped in a vehicle whose interior temperature reached a lethal 141 degrees. Patients have also reported manhandling and excessive drugging at multiple Acadia locations. Acadia also faces securities fraud litigation based on charges that the company runs “understaffed, unsafe, and low-quality” facilities that perpetuate extreme physical and sexual abuse.

Abuse survivors have the right to seek justice in civil court. The attorneys in our firm’s Survivors’ Rights practice group represent individuals nationwide in sexual abuse lawsuits against the institutions – schools, churches, hospitals, youth organizations, etc. – that harbored predators and failed to prevent or properly respond to incidents of sexual abuse. We have won multiple significant settlements over cases of sexual abuse including against the University of Southern California and at the University of Michigan. We have active cases of alleged sexual abuse on behalf of athletes in the NCAA, students at The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, and children at Devereux Healthcare nationwide.

Lieff Cabraser represents survivors across the U.S. who have been victimized by sexual violence and sexual and other abuse. We treat every client with care, respect, and compassion as we bring our comprehensive legal skills forward on each case. We have a dedicated team of lawyers, nurse consultants, and paralegals experienced in working with and listening to survivors who work individually with every client in every case to see that justice is won.

If a school, church, sports team, hospital, or another institution failed to protect you from abuse, we may be able to help you hold that institution accountable, and possibly seek compensation and practice changes to prevent that failure from happening again to you or others. We urge you to contact a survivor’s rights lawyer at Lieff Cabraser today about your potential case and recovery.

If you were the victim of abuse unrelated to a larger institution, representation by our firm may not be the best option for your situation. We encourage you to consider representation by other attorneys, as well as support from resources like UnSilenced.org,  RAINN.org, WomensLaw.org, MaleSurvivor.org, 1in6.org (another resource for male survivors), iSurvive.org, and AfterSilence.org.

If you or a loved one has suffered abuse at an Acadia facility, we urge you to contact a lawyer at Lieff Cabraser today about your legal rights and potential recovery. You can call us toll-free at 1 800 541-7358 or use the secure form on this page. There is no charge or obligation for our review of your case, and any information you provide will be held in the strictest confidence.