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Two additional lawsuits have been filed against the Options Behavioral Health System, as former patients have made more accusations against the mental health and addiction treatment center for allegedly failing to properly treat the patients in its care.
The lawsuits, filed in Marion Superior Court on Monday, allege that Options and its parent company, Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., operate Options “like a prison,” drugging its patients into submission, threatening them with involuntary detention orders, and holding or releasing patients to maximize reimbursement.
So far, 10 lawsuits have been filed against Options since last September. Each lawsuit highlights similar themes, with patients accusing the facility of mistreating patients and failing to treat their diagnoses.
Like the previous lawsuits, plaintiffs in the latest complaints are represented by CohenMalad LLP.
Attorney Chad Bradford, who is representing the plaintiffs, told The Indiana Lawyer on Monday, “Acadia Healthcare’s profit-driven practice of holding patients for unnecessary inpatient stays is well-documented, most notably in its recent $19.85 million settlement with the Department of Justice. These policies have clearly been implemented at Options Behavioral Health, one of Acadia’s facilities here in Indianapolis. Unfortunately, this combined with dangerously low levels of training and staffing have caused harm to Hoosiers from all over the state. The 10 victims on behalf of whom we have filed lawsuits to this point – and the dozens of others who have shared their stories with us – include men, women, and juvenile patients who suffered neglect, abuse, and medically unnecessary periods of detention at Options. Only by virtue of the additional victims and former employees continuing to come forward can Acadia and Options be held accountable for these practices and the harm they have caused.”
The defendants are represented by Barnes & Thornburg attorneys Beth Behrens and Terri Bruksch, according to the complaint. The attorneys did not respond to The Indiana Lawyer’s phone or email requests for comment.
In one of the lawsuits filed Monday, plaintiff Jason Hughes stated he was admitted to Options on July 28, 2024, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Several days after his admission, Options contacted Hughes’s fiancé, who gathered from the phone call that no treatment plan had been formulated for Hughes, according to the complaint.
During a visitation with Hughes, she also observed that he was heavily medicated and was uncharacteristically not interactive with her or others, the complaint states.
His fiancé expressed her concern over what types of medication Options staff was giving Hughes, and when she called on Aug. 10 for an update, she learned Hughes had been assaulted by another patient and taken to the emergency room for his injuries, according to court documents.
Upon returning to Options on Aug. 10, Hughes was taken back to the emergency room after he was allegedly involved in another altercation with a patient.
Fearing for his safety, Hughes was unwilling to return to Options. His medical record from Options stated that he was discharged on Aug. 11 and that Hughes had “benefitted from a brief inpatient psychiatric stay,” according to court documents. Following his release, Hughes’s regular mental health providers took him off the medications Options had issued.
In the second suit filed Monday, plaintiff A.D., a minor, said he was admitted to Options on Aug. 28, 2024, following a consultation with Options for outpatient therapy.
During the consultation, A.D. was allegedly asked if she was suicidal and if she self-harmed, to which she answered “no” to both questions.
An Options provider said A.D. needed to stay at Options as inpatient, and A.D. tried to escape by running out of the room. To stop her, four Options employees allegedly threatened to use an injectable sedative on her if she failed to comply.
The complaint stated Options used the threats of suicide and self-harm as a false pretense to admit A.D. into the facility.
Options allegedly held A.D. against her and her family’s wishes until Sept. 6. During that time, A.D. and other patients received brief “therapy” sessions where they were asked sexually explicit questions, such as whether they watched pornography.
During her stay, Options staff administered medications to A.D. that served no medical or psychological benefit and instead left her in a foggy and sedated state, according to the complaint.
After A.D. was discharged, her mother received a letter from her insurance company stating that A.D. shouldn’t have received inpatient therapy at Options and denied the request to pay the Options bill.
A.D. was allegedly not given her regular medications prescribed by her therapist during her stay and never received an evaluation at Options.
Plaintiffs are suing the defendants for medical negligence, violations of the Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act, intentional infliction of emotional distress, general negligence, and racketeering activity.
The cases are Jason Hughes v. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Options Behavioral Health System, 49D06-2503-CT-011320, and Angela Davis, Jeff Davis, JR v. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Options Behavioral Health System, 49D03-2503-CT-011300.
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