Four Tops singer Alexander Morris accuses hospital of racial discrimination

According to Morris, 53, after identifying himself as a member of the Four Summits, workers refused to treat him by taking him off oxygen and instead ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation and placed him in a restrictive vest. The lawsuit alleged that the singer was released from bondage after 90 minutes, when he was able to show a nurse a video of his Grammy Awards performance.

In a statement Tuesday, Ascension said it would not comment on pending litigation. “The health, safety and well-being of our patients, colleagues and community members remains our highest priority,” it said. “We remain committed to respecting human dignity and acting with integrity and compassion for all individuals and communities. Let us not tolerate any racial discrimination.”

Many doctors and experts say that racial inequality in access to health care is a deep-seated problem that can have dire consequences. Black Americans are dying younger than their white counterparts and are more likely to die from heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma and diabetes.

Morris is seeking at least $75,000 in damages, alleging that the hospital, nurse and security guard misdiagnosed him and mistreated him because of his race.

According to the lawsuit, Morris arrived at the hospital on April 7, 2023 by ambulance with difficulty breathing and chest pain.

“When he checked into the emergency room, (Morris) informed the nurse and security guard that he was a member of the famous Motown group ‘Four Tops’ and that he currently had safety concerns due to stalkers and fans,” the lawsuit says. he said.

The Four Tops – who catapulted Detroit’s contemporary soul scene to worldwide fame in the 1960s as a hit machine for Motown Records – continue to tour with founding star Duke Fakir.

Hospital workers “wrongly assumed he was mentally ill” and “made the decision to take him off oxygen and instead undergo a psychiatric evaluation,” the lawsuit alleges.

When he tried to correct the mistake by asking to see his ID, the lawsuit alleges, a white security guard told him to “sit on his black ass.”

Morris claims that instead of receiving “desperately needed” treatment for a cardiac emergency, his belongings were taken and he was placed in an isolation facility under the supervision of several security guards who refused his requests to seek treatment elsewhere. Morris “instead… received an intentionally misdiagnosis and received a lower standard of medical care because of his race, which amounted to racial discrimination and delayed the actual diagnosis.”

After Morris showed the nurse a video of his performance at the Grammy Awards, the lawsuit states: “The nurse realized that the plaintiff was a member of the Four Tops, so she went and asked the emergency room doctor to inform him of this. The emergency room doctor came back and said he was canceling the psychological evaluation,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit said Morris was ultimately diagnosed with a heart condition requiring a potential transplant and pneumonia, and suffered three seizures while in the hospital.

As an apology, Morris said, the hospital offered him a $25 gift card to use at the supermarket, which he declined.