Four Tops singer Alexander Morris is suing a Michigan hospital and two of its employees after he was deemed mentally sick because he told them he was a member of the famous group Motown.
Morris, then 62, had went to the emergency room because he felt chest pains and shortness of breath while visiting a daughter in Southfield. While being admitted, he told a nurse and a security guard he had safety concerns – he had been stalked prior to now because he was a widely known artist, the lawsuit says.
They “wrongly assumed he was mentally ill,” and as an alternative of providing him medical treatment, emergency room staff put him in a “restraint jacket” and ordered a psychological evaluation, the lawsuit says.
By the time his wife arrived on the hospital, he had already been handcuffed for 90 minutes. With the assistance of a video of him making the statement, they finally managed to persuade the nurse that his statements weren’t delusional.
Morris was then faraway from the straitjacket, given oxygen and brought to the hospital for treatment. He was offered a $25 supermarket gift card “as an apology,” but he declined, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleges that Morris, who’s black, was misdiagnosed and mistreated due to his race and seeks a jury trial on his demand for compensatory and punitive damages.
In response to the lawsuit, the hospital stated: “We remain committed to respecting human dignity and acting with integrity and compassion toward all people and the community. We do not tolerate racial discrimination of any kind. We will not comment on ongoing litigation.”
Morris has been a member of the Four Tops since 2019. The group was formed within the Fifties; its only surviving founding member, Duke Fakir, continues to be acting at age 88. Their hits include “I Can't Help Myself,” “It's the Same Old Song,” and “Ain't No Woman.”
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