Alexander Morris, part of the current lineup of the classic soul and R&B singing group the Four Tops, is suing a hospital after employees allegedly denied him necessary care because they didn’t believe he was in the group.
Morris, 53, is suing the Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital in Warren, Michigan, for racial discrimination, according to People.
He claims that staffers at the hospital stopped listening to his requests and decided that he was ‘delusional’ after he mentioned the source of his fame.
He adds that the hospital employees allegedly restrained him and forced him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in April of 2023.
Morris, the current lead singer of the Four Tops, filed his complaint on Monday, and he is seeking compensation of at least $75,000 and requesting a trial by jury.
Alexander Morris (pictured), part of the current lineup of the classic soul and R&B singing group the Four Tops, is suing a hospital after employees allegedly denied him necessary care because they didn’t believe he was in the group; seen in October 2022 in Berlin
Morris, 53, is suing the Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital (pictured) in Warren, Michigan, for racial discrimination, according to People. He was rushed to the hospital with chest pain and shortness of breath
Morris joined the Four Tops back in 2019. The Four Tops is one of the most important and influential groups to help define the sound of the Motown record label, and the group was a contemporary of other major acts signed to Motown, including the Temptations, the Supremes and Martha and the Vandellas, among others.
Morris is suing the hospital, along with a nurse and a security guard involved in the alleged incident.
However, the security guard reportedly died back in September, according to an obituary noted by People.
The hospital, a nurse and a security guard are listed as defendants, though the security guard appears to have died in September, according to an obituary
The singer alleges that staff at the hospital put him in restraints for an hour and a half while undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, as staff ‘wrongfully assumed he was mentally ill when he revealed his identity as a celebrity figure.’
‘The health, safety and well-being of our patients, associates and community members remains our top priority,’ a spokesperson for Ascension hospitals said in a statement. ‘We remain committed to honoring human dignity and acting with integrity and compassion for all persons and the community. We do not condone racial discrimination of any kind. We will not comment on pending litigation.’
In his complaint, Morris notes that he has a history of heart disease, and he says he was rushed to the emergency room at Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital after he began experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath in the midst of a tour with the Four Tops.
Things appear to have gotten off to a bad start after Morris allegedly mentioned that he was in the Four Tops upon arriving at the hospital.
Morris claims he was first given oxygen, but when he said he worried about fans and stalkers because he is in the Four Tops, staff removed the oxygen and put him in a straitjacket; seen with the Four Tops in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2022
Morris say she was set up for a psych evaluation, and it wasn’t until his wife came and showed staff a video of him at the Grammys that they believed him and resumed treatment
He told staff members that he had ‘current security concerns due to stalkers and fans,’ at which point the employees allegedly stopped providing him care and instead subjected him to unnecessary and improper psychiatric measures.
According to him, staff members didn’t believe that he was with the group, and because of that they stopped administering him oxygen and instead set him up for a psychiatric evaluation.
Morris alleges that staff members ignored his requests to be given oxygen again, and instead they placed him in a strait jacket to prevent him from moving.
He allegedly asked to have the jacket taken off so that he could leave and find a different hospital that would treat him, but staff members allegedly denied his request.
He also claims to have experienced a racist incident involving the security guard.
Morris says he stood up and asked if he could show his ID to prove he was who he said he was, but the guard — who was white — allegedly ordered him to ‘sit his Black a** down.’
It wasn’t until Morris’ wife arrived at the hospital that the nightmarish ordeal was ended. He explained that ‘the doctors thought he was delusional,’ and she proceeded to confirm his identity with the hospital employees.
However, Morris claims they still didn’t believe he was who he said he was until his wife played them a video of him performing at the Grammy Awards.
According to him, the psychiatric evaluation was immediately canceled and he was let out of the straitjacket before he was again given oxygen.
Morris says he was determined to have had a heart attack, which could require a transplant later. He says he also had pneumonia, and he alleged suffered three seizures the same day; the original Four Tops pictured
Morris’ lawsuit seeks $75K in damages and a trial by jury. He claims the hospital only offered him a $25 gift card as an apology; the original Four Tops in 1973 in NYC
He was then properly diagnosed, and clinicians determined he had suffered a heart attack and was currently battling pneumonia.
Morris alleges that he went on to suffer three seizures within the same day, and he says it was subsequently determined that his heart attack may necessitate him getting a heart transplant in the future, which would significantly alter his life.
Morris claims he was offered a $25 gift card to a major retailer in the area ‘as an apology,’ though it’s unclear if staff from the hospital delivered a significant verbal apology along with the gift card. Morris says he turned down the gift card.
‘When our client presented to the hospital he was racially profiled. The hospital staff and security guard were quicker to assume Mr. Morris was psychotic than successful because he was a Black man,’ alleged Morris’ attorneys Maurice Davis and Jasmine Rand in a statement to People. ‘Even if he was mentally ill he was still in the middle of a clear medical emergency that necessitated swift medical intervention. The hospital had no excuse to deny him emergency medical treatment.’
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