A hefty $100 million lawsuit has been lodged against Hawthorn Center, a state-run psychiatric facility, after a disturbing incident where a 9-year-old patient was allegedly assaulted by a fellow patient, with the lawsuit claming that staff even egged on the altercation. According to a CBS Detroit report, the lawsuit claims that the assault occurred last October, within the walls of the Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Westland, where the Hawthorn Center's patients are temporarily housed.
Arnold Reed, an attorney for the victim's family, detailed the allegations of a video recording showing staff at the facility opening a door to allow a 15-year-old patient to reach the young child, even after the minor had been apparently threatened. In the wake of the event, the child suffered a tooth knocked into their gums and potential brain issues, Reed specified in an interview with clickondetroit.
Following the investigation led by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the facility saw one employee fired, another voluntarily resign, and a third placed on suspension, as per a statement from the department shared by CBS Detroit. Yet, Reed questioned the lack of arrests post-investigation, a sentiment echoed in the legal complaint against the facility.
"The brutal beating of this nine-year-old defenseless child at the hands of a fifteen-year-old resident was encouraged by several adult staff members," Reed said, according to The Detroit News. "They instigated, cheered, and even gyrated in celebration of the instigation of this brutal assault." This case is not the first mark against the Hawthorn Center, which previously faced a lawsuit for trauma inflicted during an active shooter drill that had not been announced to patients or staff.
The incident has caused public uproar with attention from lawmakers like Sen. Michael Webber, who expressed concerns about the facility’s practices and requested further investigation. Parents send their children to facilities like the Hawthorn Center believing they are safe havens for mental health treatment, not battlegrounds, Reed emphasized in his damning accusation of the facility’s alleged misconduct.
