Litigation: a growing threat to community centers

Many therapeutic recreation professionals are employed in community centers (e.g., boarding homes, nursing homes, sheltered workshops). Recently, community centers have become vulnerable to litigious action through negligence lawsuits. The trends toward substantive immunity and least restrictive environment have fueled such law-suits. This article addresses the reasons behind litigious action in community centers. Liability principles and administrative problem areas are then used by the authors for drawing preventive recommendations.