Schimmel & Parks, APLC is currently representing plaintiffs who have filed suit against Chris Bathum, the founder and operator of a Los Angeles drug and alcohol rehab center called Community Recovery. Bathum has been accused of several instances of egregious abuses of his patients, including providing drugs to patients and taking advantage of them sexually. Recently, we interviewed with 20/20 about the different types of abuse that can occur in substance abuse treatment centers and how they occur more frequently than most people are aware.
It is a huge decision to accept treatment for a drug or alcohol addiction, and no one should ever have to doubt that they will receive anything less than the highest level of care and compassion when they entrust their health to a rehab professional. Unfortunately, however, recent events have shown us that just because a person claims to be a professional does not mean that they are.
Abuse in treatment centers can include:
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Financial abuse
- Emotional abuse
In our current case, Bathum is accused of coercing patients to use and overdose on drugs so that he could abuse his patients, along with a laundry list of other charges including forgery and fraud for operating an unlicensed, unmonitored, and unregulated residential treatment facility for his own financial gain. Sadly, one of the plaintiffs we represented against Bathum passed away after a long battle with substance problems exacerbated by the abuse of the man who she trusted to help her.
This despicable behavior towards vulnerable people should under no circumstances be tolerated. If you or someone you know has suffered physical, sexual, financial, or emotional abuse at the hands of a drug treatment facility or operator, or if you have suffered the loss of a loved one who died as a result of an injury or overdose when they should have been receiving proper treatment, you deserve justice. There is no time to waste in contacting a lawyer at Schimmel & Parks, APLC. We are now accepting drug treatment facility abuse cases and are prepared to aggressively pursue justice for injured clients. We will stop at nothing in pursuit of a maximum recovery.