a singer in The Four Tops are suing a Michigan hospital, claiming staff called him “delusional” and put him in a bondage jacket instead of believing he was a member of Motown’s legendary vocal quartet. Seeking treatment for chest pain related to “severe” heart disease.
Alexander Morris, who is black, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Michigan on Monday. He claimed that staff at Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital north of Detroit thought he was lying when he showed up at the emergency room on April 7, 2023, saying he was experiencing chest pain and difficulty breathing while serving as the lead singer of the band Four Tops. The Temptations toured the country together. Morris said white hospital staff put him in a “restraint jacket and/or four-point restraint device,” removed oxygen and told him he first had to wait for a mandatory psychological evaluation, according to a 17-page complaint obtained by Morris. rolling stones explain. The lawsuit was first published by journalist Seamus Hughes.
Morris claimed that for 90 minutes, hospital staff, including a white male security guard, “mistakenly believed he was mentally ill.” He claimed they refused to identify him because he tried to explain that he had a “severe” history of heart disease, which included treatment and the use of a defibrillator.
“[Morris] Asked if he could prove his identity by showing his ID, the white male security guard ordered him to “get his black person ass down,” the lawsuit says. “None of the nursing staff intervened to stop the racial abuse and abuse.”
Eventually, according to the lawsuit, Morris convinced a nurse to watch a video of him performing at the Grammy Awards. The nurse then “realized” that Morris was a member of the Four — he joined the organization in 2019 — and allegedly notified other staff members, the lawsuit states. Morris’ psychological evaluation was then canceled and he was removed from his restraints and received medical treatment, the lawsuit states. He was eventually diagnosed with “severe heart disease and pneumonia” at the hospital, the documents said.
Send in one copy to rolling stonesAscension said it could not comment specifically on pending litigation. “We do not tolerate racial discrimination of any kind,” it added. “The health, safety and well-being of our patients, colleagues and community members remains our top priority. We remain committed to respecting human dignity and treating all people and communities with integrity and compassion.
After the incident, a hospital security guard contacted Morris and said the security guard who restrained Morris had a history of making racist comments and jokes and “frequently used excessive force against patients,” the lawsuit states. The whistleblower guard also allegedly said employees falsified reports of incidents involving Morris and instructed employees not to discuss what allegedly happened.
Morris’ attorney, Morris Davis, tells us rolling stones The whistleblower guard has agreed to testify if necessary. “This case is important because the hospital staff believed that because he was a black man, he was suffering from some kind of psychotic episode, that he had lost his mind, that he needed to be physically restrained, like that he posed some kind of danger to others. “They wanted to limit his hands, tie him down, make sure he couldn’t hurt anyone. So instead of assuming he was a successful black man, the leader of the Four, they assumed he posed a danger.”
Davis said the outcome of the incident could have been catastrophic. “He could have died. Instead of providing him with medical treatment, they restrained him,” Davis said. “He was experiencing quite serious medical conditions and was subject to abuse and discrimination.”
