An active shooter drill at Hawthorn Center in Northville Township will cost the State of Michigan $13 million.
The financial settlement is the result of a lawsuit filed regarding the unannounced drill at the psychiatric treatment facility on Haggerty Road. Local police were not informed about the drill, which “terrified” both patients and staff members, according to court filings.
Staff members and families of patients at the hospital claimed that the announcement heard throughout the facility that two armed men had invaded the building caused patients and staff to scramble for cover, hide under desks, text their families and repeatedly call 911 for help.
“It was an overwhelming and frightening long-term impact kind of event on the people,” said Robin Wager, an attorney for the plaintiffs during a recent radio news interview.
The settlement documents stipulate that each of 50 children at the hospital will each received about $60,000 while 24 staff members will received about $6,000,. According to the settlement filed in the Michigan Court of Claims, 90 people will receive an average of more than $50,000, depending on the level of trauma experienced during the incident.
“The settlement does not have the state admitting any liability,” Wagner said. “But we credit the state with realizing early on that this was an incident that did cause a lot of injury to a lot of their staff and patients, so they came to the table quickly.”
The drill was reportedly the idea of and implemented by the safety director at the hospital, according to news reports.
