A Black woman who sought medical assistance at Saint Luke's Community Hospital in Leawood, Kan., in May 2021 claims she was forcibly removed from the medical facility by Leawood police before receiving treatment for "excruciating" abdominal pain, according to a May 23 report in The Kansas City Star.
Muriel Martin filed a lawsuit May 19 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against St. Luke's Health System, the city of Leawood, Kan., and two Leawood police officers, alleging racial discrimination, violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and civil rights violations stemming from the May 2021 incident.
To pay for her attorneys fees and for her emotional pain and suffering, Ms. Martin is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. She is seeking a jury trial.
A Saint Luke's Health System spokesperson told Becker's, "Though we await formal service of the lawsuit, we intend to vigorously defend against the allegations. Saint Luke's Health System is deeply committed to our culture of diversity and inclusion and to providing high quality care to every patient. We are proud of our long-standing commitment to prioritize health equity in order to advance care, and to treating everyone with dignity and respect. We were gratified to be named by Newsweek earlier this year as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity."
A spokesperson for the Leawood Police Department said neither the city nor the department would comment on the litigation.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Martin drove herself to Saint Luke's Community Hospital in "excruciating" abdominal pain. She was also suffering from cramping, nausea and vomiting.
She presented with an implanted port, which the emergency room nurses tried to use to provide IV medication. When they realized they did not have the appropriate needles to access the port, according to the report, they called in a physician, who attempted to insert the IV into Ms. Martin's neck. Ms. Martin said she asked the physician to insert the IV in a different way. The lawsuit alleges the physician replied: "It's obvious you don't want to be here. Why don't you leave?"
Two police officers called by hospital personnel arrived at the emergency department and asked Ms. Martin to leave the premises, according to the lawsuit. When she insisted she was too ill to leave the medical facility, she said the officers forcibly removed her.
"Ms. Martin asked if she could wait in her car to be seen by a different doctor or be picked up by a relative. The officer allegedly put his hand on his Taser and told her to 'leave or suffer the consequences.' She left," according to The Kansas City Star.
Alleging Ms. Martin was a "victim of implicit bias against African-Americans," the lawsuit said, "White patients who seek treatment and advocate for their treatment are not forcibly removed from the hospital and the unequal treatment given to African-American patients is attributed to enduring racist cultural beliefs and practices."
The lawsuit also says that Ms. Martin "experiences serious paranoia, distress and shame" and does not travel to Leawood for "fear of experiencing a similar interaction."