CHICAGO, IL – November 4, 2025 — A lawsuit filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois alleges that BHC Streamwood Hospital, Inc., doing business as Streamwood Behavioral Healthcare System alleging that it failed to protect a young patient from sexual abuse, physical restraints, and retaliation while she was in their care.
According to the complaint, filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe S.M., the plaintiff was repeatedly assaulted and subjected to seclusion and chemical restraints during hospitalizations at Streamwood between 2004 and 2006, when she was a child. The lawsuit asserts violations of Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and Illinois law, and alleges that Streamwood and its parent companies ignored or failed to prevent a pattern of abuse and unsafe conditions at the facility.
The defendants have not yet responded to the allegations. The complaint cites publicly available federal and state reports and investigations into Streamwood and related facilities, as well as previously disclosed enforcement actions concerning patient safety and compliance.
“Our client came forward to seek accountability and systemic change,” said attorney Joe Sauder of Sauder Schelkopf LLC, who represents the plaintiff. “She entered Streamwood as a ten-year-old child in need of care and left deeply traumatized.”
The case is Jane Doe S.M. v. BHC Streamwood Hospital, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-13512 (N.D. Ill.).
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