Lawsuit claims patient at Sharpe Hospital was unlawfully committed, abused

WESTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — Disability Rights of West Virginia (DRWV) has filed a civil complaint against Sharpe Hospital, its administrators, the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health Facilities and the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services.

The suit, filed May 8 in Lewis County Circuit Court, claims that an adult male with a developmental disability was illegally discharged from a group home in Wood County, unlawfully committed to Sharpe Hospital in Lewis County and has been “battered and physically abused.”

DRWV is the federally-mandated protection and advocacy system for the state. These agencies were established by Congress to protect the rights of people with disabilities.

The patient at the center of the complaint, identified in the suit as “J.P.” is in his 20s, but has the mental capacity of a two-year-old.

The suit claims that J.P. was unlawfully committed to Sharpe Hospital after he was falsely accused of attacking his roommate at a group home in Wood County.

The complaint includes an interview with one of J.P.’s psychiatrists that documented bruises to J.P.’s back and side that the psychiatrist said did not appear to be self-inflicted.

Mike Folio, DRWV’s Legal Director, said this is the first of many similar suits that will be filed.

“We’ve identified at least 12-14 additional individuals whose treatment plans specifically say that they’re clinically stable at baseline and ready for discharge,” said Folio.

DRWV seeks to have J.P. returned to a less-restrictive setting.

Read the full complaint here .

12 News contacted both the Department of Health Facilities and the Department of Human Services for a comment, but has not yet received a response.

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