Survivors' Rights

Lieff Cabraser is investigating reports of rampant student abuse in the teen rehab centers that proliferate throughout Utah. In addition to allegations of sexual abuse and forced restraint, with up to 10 staff members piling on top of a single student, the complaints include forced sedative injections, overmedication, strip searches, and multiple-day isolations.

Utah is home to almost 100 youth residential treatment centers, and in the past five years, they have seen nearly 12,000 children come through their doors, with some of those young people switching from one facility to another. At least eight students have come forward to lodge accusations against Provo Canyon School, one of Utah’s biggest residential treatment centers, and many more allege similar conduct at a large number of Utah’s residential youth treatment centers.

For a variety of social, legal, and geographic reasons, Utah has become the primary center for the establishment of youth treatment and rehab centers in the U.S. Students are sent to rehab centers in Utah from all over the country, notably with California as the biggest single source.

Further reports include allegations that these facilities routinely restrain children and/or subject them to sedative injections. In an expose, The Salt Lake Tribune reported that one critic observed, “They’re not doing any legitimate treatment… they’re just warehousing kids.” Other critics say the teen rehab industry has flourished in Utah for other reasons, too. The land is affordable, workers don’t demand high wages and state regulators are stretched thin and reluctant to punish violations.

Lieff Cabraser represents survivors across the U.S. who have been victimized by sexual violence and sexual 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 RAINN.org, WomensLaw.org, MaleSurvivor.org, 1in6.org (another resource for male survivors), iSurvive.org, and AfterSilence.org.