A car crash victim who doctors wrongly tagged as a cancer patient claims he was beaten by hospital guards when he tried to leave to avoid unnecessary chest surgery.
Joseph Wheeler said he awoke at Prince George's Hospital in Upper Marlboro, Maryland after a June 23 car accident and he was feeling hungry, Courthouse News Service reports.
His is seeking $3.6 million in compensation damages and a further $10.7 million in punitive damages for assault and battery, false imprisonment and infliction of emotional distress from owner of the hospital Dimensions Health Corporation.
Prince George County Court heard when Mr Wheeler asked a nurse for food she told him he could not eat as he was scheduled for surgery for a "potentially cancerous mass removed from his chest".
Mr Wheeler told he checked his ID bracelet which stated a woman's name who had a birth date 13 years before he had been born.
He said he told his wife what was going on and decided to leave the hospital, despite suffering from serious internal injuries.
Nurses called security officers to prevent Mr Wheeler leaving the hospital and an argument ensued.
Mr Wheeler said he was grabbed by one of the officers and shoved into a wall before falling to the ground.
One of the security guards then allegedly yelled "Get off the floor bitch! This game is over!".
The Wheelers eventually convinced hospital staff of Mr Wheeler's identity and he was admitted to St Mary's Hospital, where he was diagnosed with four broken ribs, a sprained shoulder, ruptured spleen and a concussion.
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