90 Lawsuits Filed Against Dr. Brian Hyatt and Northwest Medical Center's Behavioral Health Unit, Amplifying the Voices of Those Who Were Falsely Imprisoned and Ignored for Years

Attorney, Aaron Cash, first learned of Dr. Hyatt's abuse when Dr. Hyatt refused to release Cash's client, Karla Adrian-Caceres, from the Behavioral Health Unit.  Dr. Hyatt and Northwest Employees held Karla against her will for three days, forcing her to sign a voluntary consent to admission and threatening her with an extended stay if she continued to ask to be released. The Washington County Circuit Court twice ordered Karla to be released from the Unit, the second time calling for a deputy sheriff to rescue Karla following the Unit's blatant refusal to abide by its initial Order for Karla's release. 

Dr. Hyatt's message in response to Cash's lawful demands to release Karla can be seen above.  Karla is the first of 90 lawsuits filed against Dr. Hyatt and Northwest Medical Center's Behavioral Health Unit alleging false imprisonment among other claims.

Since Karla's lawsuit became public, a number of others have shared their similar experiences in the Unit:

Three women, Trella Elam, Brooke Stewart and Madi Dana, all shared their experiences in the Behavioral Health Unit, telling a 5 News reporter that they, too, were held against their will and threatened.  All three women reported that they felt they did not receive the care they needed from Dr. Hyatt, stating that Unit staff were evasive about Hyatt's whereabouts and that patients had little to no contact with Hyatt during their stays.  All the while, Hyatt was billing insurance for services he never rendered to his patients.

These three women's stories align with nearly a hundred others.  Many former patients allege that they were physically and chemically restrained like Brooke Stewart, who was given a shot with sedatives every time she'd wake up during the first few days of her stay.  Other patients allege that they never saw Hyatt at all and that his name was blacked out on their wristbands by staff.