The state is investigating separate claims of girls being sexually assaulted by other patients at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic on the heels of two lawsuits being filed against the facility.

The most recent complaint, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on Friday, alleges that a girl who was then 14, was sexually assaulted by a 16-year-old male patient on July 26.

The other complaint, filed in Allegheny County in January, includes claims that a 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in March 2008 by a 15-year-old boy with a violent criminal record.

A spokeswoman for UPMC said she could not comment on the situation.

Beth Myers, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Welfare, said that the state Department of Health is conducting an investigation on DPW's behalf. The Welfare Department will then act on any recommendations made.

Ms. Myers could not comment specifically on the allegations. "I can tell you there are things being done," she said. "There is positive action being taken."

According to the lawsuit filed Friday, the 14-year-old girl was admitted to Western Psych on July 20 on referral after she was found to be socially withdrawn, depressed, having suicidal indications and engaging in self-harming behavior.

On July 25, she told a doctor at the facility that a male patient had been "intrusive" with her and that he had made inappropriate comments. The next evening, about 9:50 p.m., the lawsuit said, the boy, who was 16, entered the girl's room and sexually assaulted her.

Mark Haak, the lawyer who filed the complaint on behalf of the girl and her parents, said staff members at Western Psych walked in on the attack as it was happening.

"They caught them in the room on the floor," he said.

The girl was immediately taken to Children's Hospital for a medical evaluation and exam. She was later returned to Western Psych and placed in a different unit.

Mr. Haak said police interviewed his client. However, no criminal charges were filed in that case.

The lawsuit alleges gross negligence in that the staff failed to properly supervise adolescent patients and allowed male and female patients to be housed in the same unit. It also includes a claim of corporate gross negligence.

"It's just surprising something like this would happen at Western Psych," Mr. Haak said. "It's a very respected psychiatric institution."

Attorney Pete Payne, whose firm filed a lawsuit against Western Psych in January for a similar incident, said it's happened multiple times.

With his client, a 12-year-old girl, the hospital tried to cover up the assault, Mr. Payne said. "They tried to say she did it to herself," he said. The girl had bite marks and bruises on her breasts and neck, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that the girl was assaulted overnight in her room between March 24 and March 25, 2008.

Though her mother had requested that the girl, who had suicidal tendencies, stay in the pre-adolescent wing of the facility -- for children under 14 -- at some point on March 24, the lawsuit alleges that she was moved to the area that housed patients ages 14 to 18. The lawsuit said that the girl's attacker was 15.

As the boy removed the girl's pants and underwear, he stated, "if you scream I will kill you," the lawsuit said.

The girl did not report the assault until later in the day on March 25, Mr. Payne said, because she was frightened.

When she did, he continued, Western Psych staff did their own cursory examination. "They were very, very nonchalant about it," Mr. Payne said.

But when the girl's parents learned that day of the assault, he continued, they took her to Children's Hospital.

In that case, the boy who was accused of assaulting the girl had a history of violent, criminal behavior, the lawsuit said. He was later charged by police.

The Joint Commission, a national, not-for-profit accrediting agency, said that a sexual assault could be considered a "sentinel event." That could prompt the commission to require the medical facility to submit a formal corrective action plan that outlines how similar incidents can be prevented in the future.

Once a complaint is received, an internal review is done and action taken. Depending on the severity of the issue, action could include simply tracking trends of incidents that have occurred to review during the next accreditation survey, or Mr. Powers said, the commission could conduct an unannounced, on-site survey. UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside, the facility associated with Western Psych, was last accredited on Nov. 11, 2006. The most recent on-site survey occurred on April 24.

The Joint Commission was not aware of either of the alleged sexual assaults at Western Psych, Mr. Powers said.

According to Ms. Myers, a facility is required to report any incident or allegation such as the sexual assaults to DPW. She was unsure how or when the department was alerted in these instances.

Possible outcomes include simply making recommendations to increase or change staffing or address management issues. If there are irreconcilable differences, Ms. Myers continued, a license could be revoked.

The two girls who are the subjects of recent lawsuits continue to receive psychiatric treatment more than a year after the assaults. "You have a child whose life is just beginning," Mr. Payne said. "This will affect every relationship she'll have for the rest of her life."

Mr. Haak said his client also continues to struggle. "It really has affected her," he said. "Whatever issues she had, this clearly compounded them."