SOUTHCOAST BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOSPITAL SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors of Sexual Abuse at Southcoast Behavioral Health Hospital in Massachusetts

Southcoast Behavioral Health Hospital in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, was cited by federal inspectors for failing to protect adolescent patients from sexual assault due to serious supervision gaps. If you or a loved one suffered abuse at Southcoast Behavioral Health Hospital, contact Levy Konigsberg today to pursue justice.

History of Sexual Abuse at Southcoast Behavioral Health Hospital in Massachusetts

Examples of alleged abuse, and of conditions likely to lead to abuse, include the following:

• In June 2024, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee released a sweeping report detailing abuse at residential treatment facilities operated by major healthcare companies, including Acadia Healthcare, the parent company of Southcoast Behavioral Health Hospital. The report revealed systemic sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, unsafe conditions, inhumane confinement practices, and neglect throughout these facilities.

• In March 2020, a mental health industry watchdog reported that Acadia Healthcare’s Southcoast Behavioral Health Hospital (SCBH) in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, faced criticism due to a high number of complaints filed with the state. The complaints, filed between 2015 and mid-2019, totaled at least 53, the second-highest among psychiatric hospitals with over 100 beds in the state. 

Allegations included coercive admission practices, with one patient claiming a doctor threatened to commit her for six months if she didn’t sign herself in voluntarily. The same patient alleged that the doctor prescribed medication without consulting her private physician and that she later discovered the medication was for conditions she didn’t have.

• In December 2023, a patient was allegedly sexual assaulted by another patient. 

Do I Have a Case?

You may have grounds to file a civil legal action if:

• You were sexually abused by a guard, counselor, nurse, or other youth residential treatment or juvenile detention center staff member.
• The abuse occurred at any youth residential treatment or juvenile detention facility.

Levy Konigsberg represents survivors in civil lawsuits that aim to hold youth residential treatment facilities,  juvenile detention centers, private healthcare companies, and other facility operators accountable for their failures to stop abusive staff members and protect young residents.

As civil claims, these cases are separate from any criminal proceedings that may arise from abuse and focus instead on holding institutions liable for damages. This means you may still have a claim even if:

• Your abuser is no longer alive.
• Your abuser was never charged with or convicted of a crime.

Recoverable Damages in Sexual Abuse Claims

In addition to providing accountability and a sense of justice, civil sex abuse lawsuits allow survivors to recover financial compensation for their damages, which may include:

• Past medical and mental health expenses
• Future mental health expenses, including therapy, medications, etc.
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish and psychological harm
• Lost income
• Other economic and non-economic damages

Massachusetts Sexual Abuse Attorneys

In 2015, Massachusetts lawmakers passed groundbreaking legislation to greatly expand the rights of child sexual abuse survivors. Specifically, these legislative amendments gave survivors, whom research has shown can take years or decades to process their abuse and its resulting impact on their lives, far more time to file civil lawsuits than what was previously provided for under the law.

Claims against abusers

Under current Massachusetts law (Chapter 260 § 4C), survivors of child sexual abuse must file civil claims against their abuser within 35 years of the final act of abuse or within 7 years of discovering that they suffered damages as a result of their abuse, whichever is later.

There are two important facts about the law and its application in child sexual abuse cases:

• The statute of limitations can be “tolled” until child victims turn 18, which means that survivors have 35 years from the date they turn 18 to file civil claims.
• The statute contains a “delayed discovery” provision allowing child victims to file claims within 7 years of discovering that they suffered damages due to their abuse. This means that victims may still be eligible to file civil lawsuits even if it has been more than 35 years since their abuse, provided they had not previously discovered the connection between their abuse and resulting damages, which may include addiction, anxiety, depression, and other emotional and psychological injuries.

Claims against others, including organizations responsible for the abuse

A separate Massachusetts law governs claims against persons or entities other than the abuser, such as the operator of a facility who allowed the abuse to occur. Under this law, survivors of child sexual abuse that occurred after June 2014 may file civil claims against persons or entities other than the abuser within 35 years of the final act of abuse. 

The “delayed discovery” rule allowing survivors to file within 7 years of discovering that they suffered damages due to their abuse applies the same as in claims against abusers.

Massachusetts’ current statute of limitations for child sexual abuse survivors provides far more time for survivors to take legal action than the previous law, but advocates and some lawmakers are still pushing to eliminate the statute of limitations entirely in child sexual abuse cases. There is currently a proposed bill (S.1038) that is making its way through the state Legislature that would do just that.

Levy Konigsberg is actively investigating allegations of sexual abuse at Massachusetts youth residential treatment facilities.

We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society and seeking justice for survivors of sexual abuse in juvenile detention centers and youth residential treatment facilities. Our experienced team is dedicated to providing legal representation and support to survivors, and we are actively investigating allegations of abuse. We are working tirelessly to ensure that survivors have access to justice and that future generations of young people are safe from harm within these institutions.