WASHINGTON — A Maryland mother is suing the Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW) for medical malpractice and negligence.
Karen Streeter is suing the PIW for $30 million citing that during her daughter's stay at the facility she was sexually abused and physically assaulted. The child who is a minor and only referred to as B.S., according to court documents, was admitted to PIW on Jan. 29, 2023, for assessment and treatment of behavioral health concerns.
Court documents obtained by WUSA9 claim that on March 29, 2023, at 9:09 p.m., B.S. was beat up by another resident at PIW after being accused of stealing undergarments. Streeter claims the staff failed to intervene in a timely manner in her lawsuit.
The following morning around 8 a.m., B.S. and her roommate were both allegedly jumped by the same resident and three other PIW residents, in their sleep. Staff failed to break up the fight which ended up lasting between 6 to 10 minutes.
B.S. was reportedly left with severe bruising on her face and a black eye as a result. Streeter says PIW failed to properly document either of the altercations and didn't notify her immediately after.
Streeter claims she only learned about the altercations because of a previously scheduled family Zoom call on March 30. That same day, PIW discharged B.S. citing safety concerns but did not provide adequate follow-up care or address the assaults.
B.S. allegedly told her mother that during her stay she engaged in "group orgy sexual activities" with other patients at PIW.
In the lawsuit, Streeter says PIW has a documented history of patient neglect and abuse from a report by Disability Rights D.C. back in June 2021 and again in July 2022.
WUSA9 has reached out to PIW for a comment on the lawsuit. We have not yet heard back. We will update this article as soon as we do.
