Michigan’s state-run Hawthorn Center — a child’s psychiatric hospital where an active shooter drill was held that traumatized patients and staff in December 2022. (Screengrab via WXYZ)
The state of Michigan has agreed to pay $13 million to patients and staff at a state-run children’s psychiatric hospital over a surprise active shooter drill that occurred in December 2022.
The first lawsuit against the Hawthorn Center in Northville Township — a medium-sized suburb of Detroit — was filed in April 2023 by six employees and the parents of two children attending the facility. At the time of the drill, none of the patients’ families were alerted that it would occur and most of the staff were also kept in the dark.
Four additional lawsuits were eventually filed by various parties over the “frantic call” that was issued through the hospital’s paging system announcing that there were active intruders in the building.
The state agreed to settle all of the lawsuits with two classes on Thursday, according to the 88-page settlement agreement obtained by Law&Crime. Under the terms of the agreement, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which previously operated the hospital, did not admit to any wrongdoing over the drill.
