Salt Lake Tribune - Ex-patient claims malpractice, sues treatment center: "Ex-patient claims malpractice, sues treatment center
Copper Hills: He says a medication caused a painful injury and long-term damage
By Kirsten Stewart
The Salt Lake Tribune



Allegations of abuse and other misdeeds continue to plague Copper Hills Youth Center, a West Jordan psychiatric facility for troubled youth.
Andrew Tafoya of Los Lunas, N.M., has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the treatment center and one of its former doctors, James A. Miller, alleging that an anti-depressant Tafoya was prescribed while a patient at Copper Hills left him permanently disabled and disfigured.
The complaint follows probes by Utah licensors and child welfare officials into alleged physical and sexual assaults at Copper Hills. The facility was cleared, though investigators suggested improvements to the supervision, training and criminal screening of employees.
Utah Human Services licensing director Ken Stettler said there have been no recent complaints or sanctions filed against Copper Hills. State Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing officials, who are responsible for investigating individual malpractice claims, won't disclose whether Miller is under investigation. To date, no disciplinary actions have been filed.
Tafoya was admitted to Copper Hills in December 2002 for depression and a drug abuse problem. He was 17 years old.
According to his lawsuit, he was prescribed several medications by supervising physician Miller, including trazodone hydrochloride, an anti-depressant sold under the brand name Desyrel.
'Within weeks of first taking the trazodone, Tafoya began experiencing painful erections lasting 1 to 2 hours,' the lawsuit states.
According to a warning posted by the Food and Drug Adminis"