A California mother is suing Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego (RCHSD) for unspecified damages, alleging that its staff discriminated against her transgender son.

Katharine Prescott took 14-year-old Kyler Prescott to RCHSD in early April 2015 for suicidal ideation and for the treatment of self-inflicted injuries following transphobic harassment by his peers. Kyler committed suicide in May 2015, just weeks after receiving inpatient care.

Transgender Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights recently filed an amended complaint after the federal court ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s sex discrimination protections apply to transgender children. The court also ruled that Katharine is entitled to seek emotional distress damages on behalf of her son.

The suit alleges that RCHSD violated California laws by discriminating against Kyler based on his gender identity, and that the hospital engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices by falsely claiming that it was experienced in treating transgender patients.

The hospital was made aware that Kyler was a transgender boy, and Katharine informed hospital staff that her son must be treated as male. Despite Katharine's attempts to correct the discrimination, she claims that the staff repeatedly addressed Kyler, whose gender markers were legally changed to male, as a girl.

The hospital’s psychiatrist ultimately discharged Kyler from RCHSD's youth psychiatry unit after 24 hours, rather than holding him for the standard 72 hours. The teen committed suicide just 41 days after his discharge.

"When my son was in despair, I entrusted Rady Children’s Hospital with his safety and well-being," Katharine says. "Hospitals are supposed to be safe places that help people when they’re in need. Instead of recovering at the hospital, Kyler got worse because staff continued to traumatize him by repeatedly treating him as a girl and ignoring his serious health issues."

"It’s painful to speak out, but I want to make sure no other parent or child ever has to go through this again."

“Hospitals should be safe places for transgender children and anyone in crisis to seek help and care," adds Transgender Law Center executive director Kris Hayashi. "Medical providers must understand the great harms they can inflict if they discriminate against trans youth. There is no reason any young person should go through what Kyler did.”

Katharine memorably shared Kyler’s story on Caitlyn Jenner’s docu-series I Am Cait.