SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – A lawsuit filed last week against Michigan on behalf of a 15-year-old girl who attorneys say was “encouraged” by staff to assault a 10-year-old boy has been expanded.
Both children were residential patients under the care of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services at the Walter Reuther Psychiatric Hospital, which houses the Hawthorn facility.
The state’s juvenile psych patients were moved to the Walter Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Westland while a new state facility for children is being built. Older and younger children are separated by locked security doors, but on Oct. 18, 2023, employees opened a door, which allowed the older girl into the younger children’s area where she attacked the boy.
“For several seconds, she stomps, and stomps, and beats Princeton,” said attorney Arnold Reed. “She knocks his tooth up into his gum, Princeton has some brain damage behind this, based on a brain-imaging study.”
Reed has confirmed that he will file a $50 million lawsuit on behalf of the 15-year-old girl. Reed said footage from the hospital shows staff members “celebrating” moments before the attack happened.
Reed said that evidence shows staff members “encouraged, manipulated, and controlled the mind” of the 15-year-old girl. She was “manipulated by staff and used as an ‘enforcer’ by staff members.”
The lawsuit was initially filed last week, and now names specific people who work with the state and with the psychiatric hospital. The lawsuit can be read below.
The mothers of both children are expected to speak at a press conference at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1.
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