Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/12/four-tops-singer-forced-into-straitjacket-during-a-heart-attack-for-claiming-to-be-four-tops-singer.html
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This part is infuriating to me as a doctor. Even if this guy was having delusions, denying him medical care for the issue he presented with is absolutely not indicated. Folks who have mental illness still get other illnesses! If someone presents to your ED claiming to be Jesus Christ, and complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath, you absolutely do not delay his evaluation to get a psych consult, nor order him to “sit his divine ass down.” So many things went sideways in this story. Not that racism in medical care surprises me or anything, but any doctor should know better than this shitshow. Whoever this person is, they need to spend some time considering whether this is the right job for them.
101 Likes
I’m not clear on how “attendant” is being used in this context, but I would like to think a person making such major medical decisions in a life-or-death situation would have a higher rank than that.
22 Likes
This hospital deserves whatever shit avalanche is about to come down on them.
But "additional privacy or protection, due to his celebrity status as a member of the Four Tops. "
Is a pretty weird thing to say while having chest pains.
Oh ok, we will wheel you right over to the celebrity emergency room
10 Likes
I think that it’s perfectly normal for people to be thinking about practical matters in the middle of a medical emergency.
“I don’t want any paparazzi in here” could have been phrased differently, but it’s not an unreasonable request.
24 Likes
When he arrived at the ER, Morris told a nurse and security guard that he was a member of the Four Tops and had security concerns due to stalkers and fans, according to the suit.
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Phrase of the day! Thank you.
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why did the alleged mis-identification have to be addressed before they could start working on alexander’s heart issue?
that is why i feel they should be sued.
34 Likes
I have no idea of how bad his stalkers and/or fans can be, but he does. 
And were they discounting his pain? (And possibly EKG.)
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Also the 25$ gift card. Did it include a hallmark saying “sorry we almost killed you and thought you were a crazy man when we could have just asked for proof”?
32 Likes
It makes you wonder how many people have died in care because some ass didn’t like them or take their concerns seriously.
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An older black man arriving at an ER in Warren isn’t even slightly abnormal, a lot of black people live in and around Warren, FFS. Also not completely abnormal in Detroit Metro is randomly coming across Mowtown or other recording artists. 
28 Likes
You know that famous people get stalked, right? It happens a lot, in fact. It’s not just about their ego, it’s often about safety. 
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Right?
This was far from the worst thing that happened in this shitshow, but it may be the most surreal. It’s almost like someone said, “we might not get sued enough, so let’s make sure this guy is good and angry by giving him the most insulting appeasement in history.”
32 Likes
I found the gift card bit the final outrage in a horrible story. I mean, the unmitigated gall it takes to pull that last move is very difficult to comprehend. I wish him well in his lawsuit, and I sort of hope he refuses any settlement offer, so he can inflict maximum shame.
29 Likes
Apparently the security guard died last Fall.
Fundraiser by Mark Sylvester : Gregory Ciesielski …
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We should help them along with a malpractice suit and a review of whether they should be allowed to retain their license.
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He might not have even reached a doctor. It sounds like the triage nurse and security guard terfed him to holding before he ever reached an actual physician. 
20 Likes
Reminds me of the Ethel Merman scene from Airplane!. Only of course not funny.
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I personally witnessed a doctor dismiss the complaints of the woman I’m a caregiver for, telling her that the reason she was short of breath was that she was obese and needed to lose weight. He listened to her lungs with a stethoscope and then said, “You’re fine. You just need to lose weight.” Two days later, when I went into her room to get her up in the morning, she was already up and had the most panicked look on her face I have ever seen. I asked her if she wanted to go to the ER. She said yes. She never says that. She hates hospitals. It turns out she had multiple pulmonary embolisms in both lungs. She’s fine, but the doctors in the ER said if she’d waited much longer to come in, she probably wouldn’t have made it. I really wanted to call her pulmonary doctor and tell him he’s lucky he’s not looking at a wrongful death lawsuit. I mean, fuck, yeah, she’s obese. But she has been for years and hadn’t had this kind of shortness of breath. Like…run some tests to rule shit out, dumbass!
40 Likes
