PITTSBURGH – A young man placed into a rehabilitation facility for at-risk youth in 2018 alleges he was the target of both physical and sexual abuse during his time at the center.
Sean Jones filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on March 15 versus The Summit School, Inc. of Herman.
“Plaintiff was placed at Summit Academy in approximately 2018. At all times relevant hereto, plaintiff was a victim of abuse during his time at defendant Summit Academy’s facility by its staff members, agents, employees, supervisors, administrators and/or servants,” the suit says.
The suit explains that the plaintiff claims:
• He was physically assaulted and subjected to excessive force while not resisting staff commands in both the presence and/or at the direction of defendant’s supervisors and administrators on numerous instances, with staff threatening physical harm to plaintiff and others present if they disobeyed orders or reported any abuse, and these were accepted staff practices, customs and protocols;
• The verbalized threats of physical harm and restraint by staff members in both the presence and/or at the direction of defendant’s supervisors and/or administrators on numerous instances amounted to menacing, and while not a physical and/or sexual assault, was done, to threaten plaintiff and the others against disobeying staff orders and/or raising any grievance related to employee conduct;
• Employees’ uses of excessive and dangerous physical force and accompanying verbalized threats, were known, common and accepted staff practices, customs and protocols by supervisors and administrators at defendant’s facility.
During a one-month stay at the facility, the suit states, the plaintiff says he was subject to being choked by a gym teacher and suffered a broken right hand due to a physical and sexual assault from another staff member, leading his wrist and hand to be in pain for eight months.
For counts of negligence, negligent supervision, hiring, retention and respondeat superior liability, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of the applicable arbitration limits, plus costs and interest for all types of damages legally recoverable, including but not limited to, compensatory, special, exemplary and punitive damages.
The plaintiff is represented by D. Wesley Cornish of Cornerstone Legal Group, in Philadelphia.
The defendant has not yet secured legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-22-002917
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com