In an article published by Washingtonian on September 25, 2025, Drew LaFramboise was quoted regarding the class action lawsuit filed by JGL against the Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW). The suit alleges that PIW, under the ownership and control of Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS), engaged in a years-long pattern of patient mistreatment in violation of federal and state law.
The article recounts the experience of the firm’s client, an unidentified plaintiff in the class action, who was involuntarily hospitalized at the facility. Additional reporting is based on interviews with a dozen former patients and workers, nearly all of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly. Since the case was first filed in February 2025, at least four additional former PIW patients have joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.
Commenting on the alleged corporate practices of UHS, Drew stated “It’s not a patient-centric culture, despite the fact that they render healthcare services. It’s a shareholder-centric culture.”
The Washingtonian article details the class action, which seeks unspecified damages and alleges that PIW and UHS violated the DC Human Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other statutes, while also engaging in intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit further claims that UHS “has employed and continues to employ a brazen corporate strategy of involuntarily hospitalizing PIW patients without cause or indication [and] prolonging patients’ hospitalizations unnecessarily and without cause or indication. . . . These illegal actions have been and continue to be driven by a focus on profit at the expense of patient care, safety, and treatment.”
PIW, which opened in 1967, provides care to adolescents and adults experiencing psychiatric distress or substance abuse issues. In recent years, however, the facility has faced mounting scrutiny over serious allegations of staff misconduct, patient mistreatment and systemic dysfunction. Multiple lawsuits, as well as accounts from former employees and patients, allege the facility is plagued by violence and mismanagement—all in the service of corporate profit.
Read the full article “Inside DC’s Troubled Psychiatric Hospital: ‘This Place Is Actually Trauma-Inducing’” on the Washingtonian website.
Read the firm’s press release for additional information about the class action lawsuit.
