More than 100 former patients file major lawsuit against Universal Health Services for alleged abuse

CHICAGO - A major lawsuit was filed on Thursday against Universal Health Services (UHS), alleging systemic abuse, including sexual assault, at its behavioral health facilities in Illinois. 

The lawsuit, representing more than 100 former minor patients, focuses on incidents at Hartgrove Hospital and other UHS-operated facilities in the state.

According to the lawsuit, the patients, ranging from 8-years-old to teenagers, experienced sexual abuse while under facility care.

They claim the staff at Hartgrove Hospital forced the patients to perform sexual acts on other minor patients and were either punished for reporting their abuse or ignored and left to fend for themselves.

One of the patients spoke during Thursday's press conference.

"It was almost an every other day occurence while I was there. If they took more than one of us, and then they would say they were going to have a group session, they would force us to do things to each other," said John Doe. "And we can't say anything about it because it's our therapy. This is what we were there for to get better...they were doing their job."

Hartgrove Hospital's legal team issued the following statement:

The safety of all patients is of paramount importance to Hartgrove Hospital and we take these allegations seriously. Based upon preliminary review of the lawsuit, Hartgrove denies the allegations against them and intend to defend this case vigorously.  When the facts and evidence are presented in court, we believe they will demonstrate the falsity of the conclusions and allegations in this matter. Due to the pendency of the litigation as well as patient privacy rights, we cannot comment on specific matters at this time.