The audience viewed a segment of Hilton ’ s 2020 documentary , “ This Is Paris ,” where she recounted being taken from her bed in the middle of the night by two strangers , thinking she was being kidnapped . Instead , the arrival of these “ transporters ” flagged the start of months of abuse in multiple behavioral modification programs , where teen residents were isolated from family , abused , and ordered not to share what was happening under threat of punishment in solitary confinement .
“ No child should be taken from their bed like that … and treated like a criminal ,” Hilton said .
For Papantonio , one aspect of Hilton ’ s narrative surfaced as an avenue for legal recourse against these institutions .
“ One thing I ’ m really looking at , the strip searches , the cavity searches , the being put in solitary confinement naked , the showers where the counselors are all watching what ’ s going on … at the top of that hierarchy is somebody with a medical license ,” Papantonio said .
According to Papantonio , this structure paves the way for cases of medical malpractice .
Senator Gelser agreed that at residential youth facilities like Provo Canyon School in Utah , where Hilton spent 11 months , someone with a medical degree sits at the top of the organizational pyramid . “[ At ] Many of these places , there is nobody with any medical credential whatsoever . But they sell that . They sell that . They sell that .” Gelser said she introduced a bill last session that she thought was “ really simple .”
“ It said you cannot advertise that you provide treatment if you ’ re a facility unless you are licensed by the state health authority , and you can ’ t advertise that you provide treatment as an individual unless you ’ re a licensed healthcare professional ,” Gelser explained . “ I couldn ’ t run the bill because the Department of Justice told me it was unconstitutional , and that we had to go through the licensing boards .
“ But the one wilderness program that ’ s left in Oregon went bananas over this , saying it would completely shut them down . And I said , ‘ Why ? Just tell the truth about what you ’ re doing . But that isn ’ t what they do .’”
Hilton said before she entered into the “ troubled teen ” system , she never had taken any medication , aside from a Tylenol or Advil . “ But when I got there , every single morning and every single afternoon and night , they would have us all line up and give us a cup full of all these pills . I had no idea what anything was . I didn ’ t even talk to a proper doctor there , so I don ’ t even know how they came up with it . And I just immediately would feel so dizzy , and everybody around me was just like zombies and falling asleep everywhere , and then you would get punished for falling asleep . And I just started not remembering things .”
One day , Hilton began hiding the pills she was given under her tongue , and then put it into a Kleenex and put it in the trash .
“ One of the kids found it and told on me because they reward the childen for telling on each other , and from that moment , they locked me in solitary confinement ,” Hilton explained .
“ Everybody sees the connection here , right ?” Papantonio asked the room of attorneys . “ If there ’ s any medication being given to these kids , I don ’ t care if there ’ s a doctor on the facility . If there ’ s any medication being given to this kid , you have a lead . The lead goes all the way back to malpractice . Somebody , somebody in the pecking order , made the decision it was okay to give these kids medication .”
Hilton added another layer to the issue of medical malpractice .
“ When you talk to a therapist , it ’ s supposed to be someone that you can trust who is going to keep confidential , and that ’ s not the case at all . Anything you would tell them , they would then say in the group in front of all the other kids , humiliate you , and even to this day , I ’ ve had so many calls , emails , people reaching out to me , that the people who work at these places are talking about me all the time , which again is a violation of HIPAA ,” Hilton said .
Hilton entered the “ troubled teen ” industry system as a teen when she was sneaking out of the house , going to clubs , and getting bad grades .
“ I had undiagnosed ADHD at the time , which no one was talking about . So they couldn ’ t understand why I couldn ’ t focus in school , but nobody knew the reason why ,” Hilton said . “ And I was punished for that . And I didn ’ t deserve to be there . None of these kids deserve to be in these places .”
Papantonio said his sights are set on bringing the “ troubled teen ” industry down .
“ It won ’ t be business as usual ,” Papantonio said . “ The medical malpractice of this hasn ’ t even been touched . I ’ ve developed novel legal attacks on some of the biggest projects of the country all the way from tobacco , to opioids , to human trafficking … each one , we ’ ve always gone in with an unusual , novel approach ,” Papantonio said .
“ Once we unlock that methodology , we ’ re all going to be able to use it in every state ,” Papantonio added .
44 x The Trial Lawyer