Alarming Claim Against Methodist Hospital
Alarming Claim Against Methodist Hospital
HOUSTON (CN) - Married lawyers in their 60s say security guards refused to let them leave The Methodist Hospital, then had the husband taken to jail while the hospital held the woman overnight, injected her with Ativan against her will, and checked her needlessly into its psych ward.
The hospital did this even though a doctor said "he saw no reason why they couldn't leave," Lisa and Russell Guttshall say in their complaint in Harris County Court.
According to the complaint: "On Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Russell Guttshall called 911 for his wife, Lisa Guttshall. They had a dispute, and he feared that she might have overdosed on prescription drugs. Lisa Guttshall was taken by ambulance to Methodist. Russell Guttshall went to Methodist in his car."
The Guttshalls say blood tests showed that Lisa was OK, and they decided to leave the hospital.
However, "As Lisa Guttshall and Russell Guttshall attempted to leave Methodist, a security guard blocked them," the complaint states. "Both Lisa Guttshall and Russell Guttshall are in their sixties, and they posed no threat to this security guard. They simply made it clear that they wanted to leave the hospital, even if it was against medical advice. Both Lisa Guttshall and Russell Guttshall are also lawyers, and they told this security guard that he did not have authority to keep Lisa Guttshall at Methodist against her will.
"Despite this, the security guard grabbed Lisa Guttshall and started pulling her away. Russell Guttshall asked the security guard to leave his wife alone. At this point, other Methodist security guards joined the dispute. On information and belief, at least one of these security officers was an off-duty police officer. Russell Guttshall was grabbed, thrown to the floor and held down against his will. Lisa Guttshall was grabbed and thrown into an enclosed room while she was pleading with security to leave her husband alone. Russell Guttshall was eventually let up and put into the room with Lisa Guttshall.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/26/43361.htm
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