Stonecrest Center Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

Residential treatment centers like Stonecrest Center play an essential role in the health of our population, including adolescents and seniors. They are live-in facilities that provide inpatient services for vulnerable populations. However, there have been multiple Stonecrest Center sexual abuse lawsuits. 

In these facilities, medical professionals, staff, and administrators must fully commit to safety, quality services, and adherence to professional standards. These principles ensure patients are safe from negligence, medical malpractice, or sexual abuse. However, that doesn’t always happen in Detroit’s leading mental health facility.

As a patient residing in the healing environment of a residential treatment center, you have certain rights that the staff may not violate. If you have suffered harm at the hands of a mental health psychiatric hospital or a Michigan residential treatment facility, an abuse lawyer from Injury Lawyer Team can help you recover compensation for legal damages.

About StoneCrest Center

StoneCrest Center is a state-licensed facility in Detroit, Michigan, that provides mental health care services. Its specialized treatment programs are focused on helping patients achieve lasting wellness and recovery. StoneCrest Center has specialized treatment programs for adolescents, adults, and seniors. It’s recognized as the area’s leading mental health psychiatric facility.

Overview

StoneCrest Center is a mental health psychiatric hospital in Detroit, Michigan, with 182 licensed beds. It provides mental health, psychiatric, and inpatient services for adolescents, adults, and seniors who require inpatient psychiatric care in a healing environment. Located at 15000 Gratiot Ave, Detroit, MI 48205, StoneCrest Center is Detroit’s leading mental health clinic.

Why Do People Choose Stonecrest Center?

StoneCrest Center’s unique approach to providing quality services in a healing environment includes various therapy methods, behavioral and mental health treatment, addiction services, and rehabilitation programs.

Inpatient Psychiatric Care

Excellent services for adolescents, adults, and seniors are carefully tailored to their individual needs, creating a client-centered approach for those who require inpatient psychiatric care. The staff fully understands the difficulties our youth face, and StoneCrest Center is committed to providing excellent services for adolescents.

Committed to Providing Excellent Services

That commitment extends beyond the difficulties our youth face and the excellent care for adolescents. They are equally committed to providing high-quality care to seniors requiring inpatient care. Staff are capable of treating various conditions, including Bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and more.

Who Owns Stonecrest Center?

This facility’s legal name is StoneCrest Behavioral Health Hospital, though it is widely known as StoneCrest Center. A parent company, Acadia Healthcare, operates this care center. This organization operates 258 locations across 38 states, with roughly 11,400 beds.

Some facilities that Acadia Healthcare manages include:

• Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center
• StoneCrest Center
• Harbor Oaks Hospital

Although StoneCrest Center is committed to providing the best treatment, that doesn’t always happen when patients choose StoneCrest Center. Some patients have had horrible experiences with StoneCrest Center’s unique approach. Certain legal actions imply that this facility doesn’t understand the struggles youth face when dealing with mental illness, as they claim to.

Have There Been Notable Legal Actions Against StoneCrest Center?

Although StoneCrest Center is committed to providing help to adolescents, adults, and seniors with behavioral or mental health challenges, the facility does not always meet this commitment.

Physical and emotional damage, mistreatment, negligence, and other issues have occurred in the past, with some of them leading to lawsuits. Several legal issues have involved StoneCrest Center in the past.

Mental Health Patient Prematurely Discharged, Leading to a Stabbing Incident

Mohamad Daher filed a suit that made headlines. The lawsuit alleges StoneCrest Center was responsible for serious injuries. It was filed on behalf of a nine-year-old boy as his next friend. In the suit, he alleged that StoneCrest Center had exhibited gross negligence in discharging a mental health patient named Alaa Daher.

He was diagnosed with schizophrenia after being admitted to StoneCrest Center, but was suddenly discharged to the family without any warning of the danger he posed to himself and others. Within hours of returning home, Alaa stabbed the young boy thirteen times, resulting in serious injuries and a three-day hospital stay.

The young boy’s older brother, Mohamad, claimed that an unknown social worker had contacted the family before Alaa’s release from the leading mental health psychiatric facility to inform them that he was ready to go home.

However, the suit alleges that StoneCrest Center and the mental health physicians were negligent in discharging Alaa when he was still a danger to himself and others.

Suspicious Deaths Following Hospital Release Not Reported Appropriately

In Michigan, hospitals must report the death of a psychiatric patient if it occurs within two days of release. An investigation found that four suspicious deaths occurred shortly after release from StoneCrest Center between 2017 and 2019.

Several of these cases involved patients who were admitted to the hospital with severe mental issues and then released. Within a day or two, these patients had allegedly committed suicide.

In multiple cases, the hospital stated the cause of these deaths as unknown. However, state officials never investigated the deaths, and the deaths were not reported according to the state guidelines by StoneCrest Center. The investigation of these deaths led to several state senators pushing for changes to the guidelines for psychiatric patient deaths.

Patient Claims Hospital Detained Her Against Her Will

Jessica Abeyta voluntarily entered StoneCrest Center to be treated for shortness of breath, chest pain, and dizziness. She allegedly brought numerous medical documents regarding her medical condition to help with her treatment.

Abeyta claimed the staff at StoneCrest Center ignored these documents and stated that she was suffering from a psychological condition rather than a physical one, detaining her against her will and committing several inappropriate acts. She claimed she was forcibly placed in a small room and given medications that exacerbated her heart condition.

In the suit, Abeyta alleged that StoneCrest Center employees violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying her the right to fair and appropriate treatment. This center for adolescents, adults, and seniors is intended to provide a healing environment, but that isn’t the case for every patient who enters the lobby of StoneCrest Center.

Other Notable Complaints

Several previous patients have shunned StoneCrest Center’s unique approach and encouraged others not to choose StoneCrest Center. One patient says his therapist was turned away at the lobby of StoneCrest Center when they tried to visit him. Another says the staff, including the receptionist at StoneCrest Center, doesn’t seem to care.

Family members have been denied entry at the reception desk and left concerned for their loved ones. Other people claim they were given inaccurate medication and inedible food, and watched patients be sedated for making minor noise.

The reviews regarding a facility that is supposed to provide the best treatment and fully understand the difficulties our youth face are concerning.

What Do Inspection and Deficiency Reports at StoneCrest Center Say?

StoneCrest Center must comply with professional standards in the care of adolescents, adults, and seniors requiring inpatient psychiatric care. However, the facility has often failed to provide a safe and healing environment. Inspections have revealed numerous deficiencies in the past few years.

• Only 43% of 403 patients were assessed and vaccinated against influenza, compared with the national average of 77%.
• Only 12% of alcoholic patients received or refused a brief intervention during their inpatient stay, compared to the national average of 60%.
• Only 5% of alcoholic patients received a brief intervention, while the national average is 77%.
• Only 2% of over 500 patients with an alcohol or drug use disorder received or refused medication for treatment or received or refused a referral for addiction treatment. The national average for this rate is 72%.
• Patients spent 0.37 hours per 1,000 hours of patient care in physical restraints, compared with the national average of 0.32 hours.
• 51.9% of patients with a principal diagnosis of mental health or substance use disorders had an outpatient visit within 30 days of release, compared to the national average of 60%.
• One inspection discovered hallways and floors littered with dirt, debris, and dust. The lobby of StoneCrest Center was dusty. Water dripped into a light fixture, and air ducts were dust-covered. 
• An unclean medication room was discovered. The walls were covered with a pink substance; the pill crusher was dirty; no soap was in the soap dispenser; and there was visible dust on various surfaces. 

What Laws Govern Stonecrest Center Sexual Abuse Lawsuits?

Civil suits alleging sex crimes at Stonecrest Center — a licensed psychiatric and behavioral health program in Detroit, Michigan — are governed by several overlapping bodies of Michigan law that establish duties for healthcare providers, provide definitions, regulate notifying authorities, and set deadlines for filing claims. 

Because Stonecrest cares for both adults and minors, these statutes apply differently depending on the survivor’s age and the nature of the crime.

Mental Health Code Protections for Patients

Stonecrest Center operates under Michigan’s Mental Health Code (Act 258 of 1974), which governs licensed psychiatric facilities and the rights of recipients of treatment. Among other things, the code recognizes that patients have a right to be free from abuse. 

The Mental Health Code establishes statutory duties that plaintiffs’ attorneys may use to support claims of institutional liability, negligent supervision, or failure to protect vulnerable individuals.

Child Protection Law When Minors Are Involved

If sexual crimes at Stonecrest Center involved a minor, Michigan’s Child Protection Law (Act 238 of 1975) governs definitions of child abuse and mandatory reporting obligations. The law defines “child abuse” broadly. It includes other forms of sexual crimes when committed by someone who is “responsible for a child’s welfare,” which encompasses staff, volunteers, or administrators at youth-serving facilities. 

The statute obligates certain professionals — including healthcare staff working with minors — to report suspected child abuse or neglect immediately to Michigan’s Department of Human Services. Failure to do so under MCL 722.623can expose Stonecrest Center and its employees to additional legal consequences and may be raised as evidence of institutional negligence in civil litigation.

What is the Statute of Limitations for Civil Suits Against a Residential Treatment Center?

Any civil lawsuit for sex abuse must be filed within certain deadlines set by Michigan’s civil procedure laws. While federal law does not set a specific deadline for state tort claims, Michigan’s Revised Judicature Act imposes statutes of limitations that govern when lawsuits must be brought. For example, MCL 600.5805 generally prescribes limitation periods for personal injury actions, including claims arising from sex abuse.

For childhood sexual abuse, Michigan law has historically allowed lawsuits to be filed until a survivor’s 28th birthday, or within a specified time after discovering the injury and its connection to the abuse.

Because these deadlines often determine whether a lawsuit may proceed, attorneys closely examine the dates of alleged abuse, the survivor’s age, and the date of discovery of the injury to ensure that claims are timely under current Michigan law.

Institutional Duty of Care Beyond Statutes

In addition to its statutory duties, Stonecrest Center owes a fundamental duty of reasonable care to patients under the common law. This means the business must:

• Carefully screen, hire, and supervise staff to protect patients;
• Promptly investigate and correct known risks;
• Comply with mandatory reporting laws and protect vulnerable patients;
• Maintain policies and training to prevent foreseeable suffering.

When these duties are breached and damage results, survivors may bring causes of action, including negligence, negligent hiring or retention, and failure to protect, in their lawsuits, alongside any statutory claims.

What Rights Do Victims and Loved Ones Have?

As Detroit’s leading psychiatric hospital for adolescents, adults, and seniors, StoneCrest Center should always provide a safe environment for patients. If you or a loved one has suffered from physical harm, negligence, or another type of malpractice at this facility, you have the right to file a lawsuit against StoneCrest Center or its staff.

Injury Lawyer Team can support your case against StoneCrest to increase your chances of winning compensation.

It is essential to act quickly if you experience or suspect abuse or neglect in a residential treatment center. In Michigan, medical negligence cases have a two-year statute of limitations, so waiting too long to file your lawsuit could mean the case is thrown out.

Finding the rightresidential treatment center abuse lawyer to represent your interests is crucial for a residential treatment center case. You can pursue various legal damages, including medical bills, future medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, loss of quality of life, and more.

Contact Us For a Free Case Evaluation

If you choose StoneCrest Center for your case and experience abuse or neglect, Injury Lawyer Team is ready to help you file a legal claim. We fully understand the difficulties victims experience from negligence or malpractice and want to pursue justice on your behalf.

Together, we can hold StoneCrest Center accountable to ensure the staff provides the best treatment for adolescents, adults, and seniors.

You receive a free consultation about your case when you work with our team. You can ask questions about the legal process and your situation during this conversation. We can discuss pursuing legal action together once you are satisfied with the answers.

Our attorneys work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning we receive payment only if we successfully recover a settlement for you. With no upfront legal costs, pursuing a lawsuit against StoneCrest Center is easier.

You can request your free case evaluation by calling 866-757-6452 or completing the online form.

All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.