But the next year, advocates for people with disabilities started to raise alarm about the way Sequel allegedly treated children. More than 40 States Have Sent Their Most Vulnerable Kids to Facilities Run by a for-Profit Company Named Sequel. We were both in a really bad place, Laurie said. It's a hard industry.. Ask a question about working or interviewing at Sequel Youth and Family Services. Sara E. Teller, Alabama father brings lawsuit against Sequel facility alleging staff abused his son, LegalReader.com, Jan. 1, 2021 (available at https: . These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Potential defendants in the Sequel Youth and Family Services abuse lawsuit may include one or more of the following parties: To best determine potential defendants, consult with an experienced attorney. Attorneys at TorHoerman Law have first-hand experience with these sorts of facilities and can help you gain justice and compensation. The first morning he woke up in the room, Tristan said, he waved his arms at the camera, pounded on the door and shouted for the staff to let him out to use the bathroom. 2.8 out of 5 stars for Work/Life Balance. Neither side disclosed the terms of the settlement. Despite that, the facilities passed regular inspections and public dollars continued to flow. Altamont invested nearly $40 million over the past three years, not the past two years. We have been lucky to have Sequel programs available to serve our kids, Marshall wrote. The State of Iowas placing some of these young people in this unrestricted environment is frankly absurd.. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. They also found the facility in disrepair, documenting missing sink handles, showers that had no hot water, moldy food, chairs with arms ripped off and nails exposed from torn upholstery on several couches. In Alabama, where Sequel is headquartered, records reveal that reports of troubling conditions in the companys facilities have been made to state agencies for years, including mandatory child abuse and injury reports and whistleblower accounts by former Sequel employees. Altamont Capital Partners Invests in Sequel Youth & Family Services. For more information about potential legal action, you can contact an experienced Sequel abuse lawyer at TorHoerman Law for a free, no-obligation case consultation. You can also call us at (205) 843-5086 or fill out an online contact form to schedule a free consultation. Multiple lawsuits have been filed in Alabama, alleging rampant abuse in Sequel's . You can also sue facility staff members who are no longer working for Sequel. Officers frequently were called to investigate peer-on-peer assaults, sexual assault allegations, staff-on-resident misconduct, and runaways, the state report on Martens complaint noted. Investigation reveals appalling conditions at for-profit Alabama youth home, Michigan facility 'lost all control' of children before staff fatally restrained teen, police say, 'They told me it was going to be a good place': Allegations of abuse at home for at-risk kids, Loosening the grip of restraint: Investigating allegations of abuse at youth homes. In a statement, Sparkman wrote that the agency investigates allegations and that subsequent investigation records are confidential based on Alabama law.. A number of new lawsuits are currently being filed nationwide against both currently operational and closed Sequel facilities. . Most of the former Sequel treatment centers that remain open are now controlled by Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, which was founded in 2021 by Jay Ripley, one of three people who founded Sequel in 1999. Following a barrage of abuse scandals and media attention, including a 2020 investigation by APM Reports, the company has shut down close to half of its treatment centers and sold most of the rest to a new company called Vivant Behavioral Healthcare. You may qualify to participate in a 3M Combat Arms Earplugs Lawsuit if: Over 140,000 Exactech hip, knee and ankle implants have been recalled due to packaging errors that can lead to the breakdown of parts vital to the devices function. In December 2021, Sequel closed both locations of its Forest Ridge Youth Services treatment program in Iowa. 2, 2022 at 8:08 PM PDT. Last year Sequel officials defended their treatment programs, stating through a crisis management firm that the company had increased staff training and oversight and was working on "phasing out the practice of physically restraining . Video Shows Fatal Restraint of Cornelius Frederick, 16, in Michigan Foster Facility. Marshall also traded messages with Sequels marketing staff monitoring Gelsers social media activity when the lawmaker toured Sequel facilities that year. They helped me when I needed expert legal representation! A majority stake in Sequel was bought by Altamont Capital, a private equity firm located in California, in 2017. 'Treated like animals' Sequel Tuskegee is set back from the road on Highway 29, about 45 . In an article from APM Reports analyzing Riverside Academy in Kansas, a former Sequel operation, it was found that: In the four years before it closed, the facility had been cited 38 times by Kansas officials for problems including excessive force by staff, poor supervision, under-qualified medical personnel, neglect and bullying by residents, according to state licensing records.. Parents, guardians, and the state expect these children to have positive peer culture, get back on track with school, and have intensive therapy. Our experienced team of child sexual abuse lawyers represents victims across a number of different case types, including in cases similar to the Sequel Youth & Family Services lawsuit. Two dozen people sat quietly in a conference room at the University of Baltimore on Oct. 1, 2015, as Sequel co-founder Jay Ripley, dressed neatly in a blazer and tie, explained why he had built a company that largely ran on taxpayer money. Legal action is being strategized by our attorneys for Horizon Therapeutics failure to properly warn patients of potential hearing loss side effects. The company is more dysfunctional than the clients they try to serve. He watched through a window as children made their way to class. The closure was voluntary, but it came at the end of a difficult period for the program. Birmingham said Sequels marketing agents play a key role in receiving feedback from state officials and in helping the facilitys staffers get what they need to care for their residents. But some facilities might have new life under a different name and one of the original founders. With the goal of continuous improvement and our support, the company has consistently invested in quality and safety initiatives and in its staff to raise the bar and drive positive outcomes for thousands of individuals trusted to its care.. And the company vowed to reduce the use of physical restraints on children. 3. After Cornelius death, Sequel was forced to shut down facilities in 18 states and earmarked for further criminal investigations and civil lawsuits. The Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water Lawsuit can apply to you, a family member, or a loved one who lived at Camp Lejeune (North Carolina) and suffered health effects from the decades of water contamination that occurred. The advocacy organizations monitors interviewed about 100 children, some as young as 12, and documented their findings in a report this summer. The lawsuit alleges staff sat on his chest as he screamed . Last August, Sequels Pompano Youth Treatment Center failed a state inspection that found a range of deficiencies at the 24-bed Florida treatment center. Sequel staff members shared the companys side of the issue and discussed how to deal with concerns among state lawmakers. If you are representing a victim who is under the age of 18 and falls under your legal care, you may qualify to file a lawsuit. SOURCE: The list of residential treatment facilities run by Sequel was assembled from public records and information from Sequel's websites. Sequel Youth & Family Services is now in the national spotlight after NBC Nightly News ran an investigative report on the company Wednesday night. Though their marketing and public statements espouse an aura of care and reverence for the well-being and progression of the residents they house, their company has been named in lawsuits that allege rampant physical, sexual, and mental/verbal abuse. Hunter was assaulted multiple times by other children, including by his roommate, in full view of Sequels staff, according to a lawsuit his family filed against Sequel this week. My client lived in a house of horrors. Here's everything you need to know about "The Grinch" sequel, plus the best books your kid can check out now. "These are places that are supposed to provide a safe, homelike, therapeutic environment, Johnson said. (866) 577-2786. That's not what we saw.". Records show that about two weeks later, Department of Human Resources Commissioner Nancy Buckner forwarded two new contracts with Sequel to Alabama Gov. Ratings by category. Do I qualify for the Sequel abuse lawsuit? TorHoerman Law is a personal injury law firm comprised of individuals who are dedicated to getting justice for those wrongfully injured by the tortious acts of others. Thank you for everything. Sequel, and similar for-profit companies that run youth behavioral health centers, can be paid up to $800 a day per child they take into their facilities, turning a profit of millions each year. She said she regularly witnessed staff members putting girls into violent restraints, to the point where they struggled to breathe, allegations also documented by the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and in NBC News interviews with other former residents. After acquiring a new facility, Sequel uses its marketing arm to increase capacity and occupancy, as Ripley put it in a 2017 call to investors. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Multiple state departments have urged their respective states to cut ties with Sequel Youth and Family Services while some states have recently signed contracts, one in Alabama worth almost $13 million. The level of abuse is staggering and very disturbing. The teen's family suit against the school and the company that owns it, Sequel Youth Services, seeks $100 million, alleging negligence. On January 26, 2022, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Tevin Pike against Sequel TSI of Alabama, Sequel TSI of Tuskegee, and Sequel Youth & Family Services LLC (Sequel), alleging that Pike was a former 15-year-old resident at an Alabama treatment facility for children run by Sequel TIS of Tuskegee, a residential psychiatric facility, for about two months in 2018, during which Pike was allegedly choked, beaten, punched, slapped and slammed to the ground by employees and other residents. Sequel was founded as a company in 1999. Sequel settled a lawsuit from Fredrick's family in December. It also ran outpatient programs in a handful of others. Toxic chemicals in Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF Firefighting Foam) have been linked to numerous types of cancer, including: AFFF Firefighting Foam lawsuits aim to hold manufacturers accountable for putting peoples health at risk. At Kingston Academy in Tennessee, state inspectors found mold infestations, overflowing toilets and children sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Ohio announced recently that it was forcing the Sequel Pomegranate location to relinquish its license to operate the treatment facility. Theyre worth nearly $13 million. TorHoerman Law is an extraordinary law firm a firm that truly makes the clients best interests the primary concern. According to Tristan, and confirmed by state records and accounts from advocates and four former foster children, the staff regularly used seclusion, sometimes for days, at Tuskegee and Owens Cross Roads. Mr. Roussos brings nearly two decades of experience building and leading healthcare organizations with vibrant service-oriented . What type of abuse qualifies for the Sequel lawsuit? Records and information from Sequel 's websites to schedule a free consultation Run by Sequel was bought by Capital... 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