Southwood Hospital Lawsuits: Allegations, Criminal Case, and Who Can Sue

Eight lawsuits are pending against Southwood Psychiatric Hospital, a children’s behavioral health facility near Pittsburgh, alleging that staff and fellow patients sexually and physically abused children as young as ten and that the hospital’s understaffing and inadequate supervision allowed the abuse to continue for years. The cases are filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court and target the hospital, its current CEO, and its former CEO. Plaintiffs’ attorneys say they expect more claims to follow.

Who Filed the Cases and Where They Stand

Five of the eight lawsuits were filed on May 12, 2026, by Pittsburgh attorney Amy Mathieu together with lawyers from the Philadelphia firm Kline & Specter. Three earlier suits were filed in 2025.¹ Each names Southwood Psychiatric Hospital, current CEO Kim Lira, and former CEO Steve Quigley as defendants.²

All eight cases remain active, with no reported settlements or resolutions. Mathieu has said her firm received “hundreds of calls from former Southwood patients and parents” after a complaint was publicized in July 2025 and believes the current plaintiffs represent a small share of potential victims. “We think there are more victims out there,” she told reporters. “This is going on for decades.”³

What the Lawsuits Allege

The complaints describe incidents from late 2014 through at least October 2023 involving children between the ages of 10 and 17. The patients had been admitted for conditions including aggression, self-harm, depression, developmental disabilities, and autism spectrum disorder. The lawsuits assert that Southwood had a “documented history of uncorrected abuse” and accuse the facility of negligence tied to understaffing, lack of supervision, and failure to use available safety measures.²

The specific allegations named in the complaints include:

Late 2014 or early 2015: A 10-year-old boy admitted for aggression was allegedly left alone in an isolated room long enough that he was forced to urinate and defecate there, and during the same admission a fellow patient allegedly lured him into a bathroom and sexually assaulted him. His mother contacted Upper St. Clair police, who reportedly told her “there was nothing they could do.”²
2016: A 17-year-old boy alleged a male staff member repeatedly entered his room at night after he had been given sedative medication, asked invasive questions about his sexual history, and on at least three occasions physically restrained and raped him.²
February 2022: A 15-year-old boy in the facility’s program for patients with intellectual developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorder alleged that a female staff member physically assaulted him in response to his autistic behaviors.²
June 2022: A 10-year-old boy admitted for aggression and self-harm threats was allegedly sexually assaulted by a fellow patient, after which the facility refused to allow his foster parents to visit him.²
October 2022: A 10-year-old girl admitted for depression and self-injurious behavior alleged she was sexually assaulted multiple times by her roommate over several nights. When her father reported it two months later, facility officials allegedly told him “nothing could be done because the roommate was also a minor.”²
October 2023: A 10-year-old boy was placed in a shared room with a patient who had a known history of sexually abusive behavior and was subsequently sexually assaulted.⁴

A pattern runs through the filings. Much of the alleged abuse occurred at night, when children shared rooms without adequate supervision, and several complaints allege that guardians were prevented from visiting or communicating with their children after abuse came to light.⁵

What Southwood Has Said

Southwood, operating publicly as Southwood Children’s Behavioral Healthcare, has said little about the litigation. A spokesperson told reporters the facility maintains a “zero-tolerance policy” for abuse and added: “We will not comment on threatened litigation. Any claims will be addressed through the appropriate legal process.”⁶ CEO Kim Lira has said the hospital does “not publicly discuss patient or employee matters” out of respect “for the privacy of all parties involved.”⁷

The hospital’s corporate parent, Acadia Healthcare, has been named in a 2024 U.S. Senate Finance Committee investigation of residential treatment operators. That inquiry, led by Senator Ron Wyden, produced a report titled “Warehouses of Neglect” that concluded the operators’ business models incentivized profit over care, resulting in systemic physical, sexual, and verbal abuse and improper use of restraints and seclusion.⁸ Acadia has characterized reporting about its facilities as containing “material inaccuracies” and says its facilities are “highly regulated” and compliant with government standards.⁹

A Related Criminal Case

In June 2023, a Southwood employee named Tamika Jones was criminally charged after surveillance video allegedly showed her pushing a minor patient to the ground and kicking him in the head, with force that caused his “head to propel backwards towards the wall,” according to the complaint. Jones, 40 at the time, was charged with felony aggravated assault, felony child endangerment, abuse of a care-dependent person, and simple assault, and she claimed she acted in self-defense. She was suspended the same day and released on $50,000 bond.¹⁰ The case, filed in Washington County, was reported as still pending as of early 2026.⁵

The Prior History Plaintiffs Point To

The current complaints frame the alleged abuse as part of a long-running pattern, and they point to earlier federal and state action. In 2005, Pennsylvania’s Office of Children, Youth, and Families, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and Bureau of Program Integrity cited Southwood’s Prosperity Campus residential programs for deficiencies in staffing, staff training, facility conditions, safety procedures, and medical and psychological treatment, finding that some deficiencies “posed risks to the health and safety of residents and/or had caused harm to them.” The state placed three programs on provisional licenses.¹¹

A whistleblower lawsuit filed by Dr. Stefan Kruszewski, a psychiatrist who had consulted for Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Program Integrity, alleged that Southwood and its then-parent Youth and Family Centered Services over-medicated and abused state-referred children and billed Medicaid for the substandard care. A four-year federal investigation ended in April 2009 with Southwood agreeing to pay $150,000 to Medicaid and to maintain a compliance and monitoring program for three years, without admitting wrongdoing.¹² The current lawsuits also reference agreements Southwood reached with federal and state authorities in 2009 and 2010 regarding its use of face-down restraints.¹³

Is Southwood Still Open?

Yes. Southwood Psychiatric Hospital remains open and operational as of 2026, offering inpatient and residential treatment for children and adolescents at its location near Pittsburgh. It continues to hold the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.¹⁴ Pennsylvania records show 12 surveys of the residential programs between 2007 and 2025, and the most recent documented survey found the residential treatment program in compliance with federal requirements for psychiatric residential treatment facilities.¹⁵

Who Else May Be Able to Sue

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have signaled that more filings are likely. The pool of potential plaintiffs could grow further depending on state legislation. Pennsylvania lawmakers introduced bills in the 2025–2026 session that would, if enacted, create a temporary two-year window for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to bring claims that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations.¹⁶ Former patients who believe they were harmed at Southwood and are considering a claim should speak with a Pennsylvania attorney about how the statute of limitations, and any revival window, would apply to their circumstances.

1
CBS News Pittsburgh. Southwood Psychiatric Hospital Sexual Abuse Lawsuits
2
TribLIVE. 5 Lawsuits Filed Against Southwood Psychiatric Hospital Alleging Abuse
3
WGAL. Lawsuits Allege Decade-Long Abuse at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Hospital
4
Becker’s Behavioral Health. Acadia Psychiatric Hospital Faces Abuse Lawsuits
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WPXI. 5 Lawsuits Alleging Child Abuse Filed Against Southwood Psychiatric Hospital
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WTAE. Southwood Psychiatric Lawsuits Abuse
7
WPXI. Mother of Former Patient at Southwood Psychiatric Hospital Speaks Out After Staff Member Charged
8
U.S. Senate Finance Committee. Wyden Investigation Exposes Systemic Taxpayer-Funded Child Abuse and Neglect in Youth Residential Treatment Facilities
9
NBC News. Senator Urges DOJ to Investigate Youth Treatment Centers
10
Observer-Reporter. Southwood Worker Accused of Pushing, Kicking Minor
11
U.S. Department of Justice. Southwood Settlement Agreement
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U.S. Department of Justice. Southwood Settlement Press Release
13
Pennsylvania Department of Health. Southwood Psychiatric Hospital Survey Results
14
Southwood Hospital. Southwood Residential Programs
15
Pennsylvania Department of Health. Southwood Psychiatric Hospital IDD/ASD Survey Results
16
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Co-Sponsorship Memo, HB 462 and HB 464