Here's an incredibly disturbing story that probably won't break through into major news. (I could be surprised; I see that it is being published in the big newspapers as of tonight.)
Alexander Morris, one of the current members of the Four Tops, went to an emergency room in Warren, Michigan, for chest pain. When he told staff there that he is a member of the group (and had security concerns), they thought he was mentally ill and put him in a straight jacket. They also removed him from the oxygen he had been given for his ensuing heart attack. And, oh yeah, a security guard told him to "sit his black ass down."
In the restraint jacket, Morris allegedly told staff he was having trouble breathing, and asked for the oxygen back. He said he was ignored. Morris then asked to have the jacket removed and for his belongings to be returned so he could leave and go to another hospital. His lawsuit says he was told he couldn’t leave. His medical condition declined. Several security guards were allegedly called to ensure he couldn’t leave.
After 90 minutes and Morris's wife's arrival, a different nurse who was shown a video of him performing at the Grammy Awards convinced the other staff to release him from the straight jacket and the doctor canceled the psych evaluation he had ordered.
In the most Michigan thing of all, "He was offered a $25 Meijer gift card as an apology, which he declined."
Not surprisingly, Morris is suing the hospital as well as staff members personally.
As others pointed out in the post where I first saw this, on top of everything else wrong with it, how can medical personnel not know that a person can be both delusional and having a heart attack? So what if a patient thinks he's someone he's not? Does that mean he can't have symptoms that can be confirmed with objective tests, and at least should be treated for his symptoms until proven otherwise?
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