LIHUE — A federal jury awarded more than $700,000 in damages to a Hawaii man who sued a hospital, saying staff injected him against his will with anti-psychotic drugs that left him incapacitated for months.
A jury in U.S. District Court unanimously concluded March 22 that Wilcox Memorial Hospital emergency room staff intentionally or recklessly inflicted emotional distress on Cameron Raymond of Kauai while he was a patient at the hospital in 2013, The Garden Island reported on Wednesday.
The hospital said in a statement to The Garden Island that the hospital is reviewing the ruling with its attorneys and cannot comment further.
Raymond declined to comment on the case.
The incident occurred during a custody battle between Raymond and his ex-wife. She called police to his home on June 5, 2013, saying she became worried about his behavior after receiving strange text messages and phone calls from him while he was taking care of their children, according to court records.
Raymond denies the allegation.
He was detained in arm and leg shackles and taken by Kauai police officers to the hospital emergency room for an involuntary psychological evaluation, records state.
Hours later, a doctor drew Raymond’s blood for a drug test. It came back negative for any illegal drugs.
Raymond remained in ankle restraints and handcuffs even though a police report states he was transported to the hospital without incident and an emergency room physician testified at trial that he did not witness his patient exhibiting any violent or strange behavior.
Still, staff decided it was not safe for officers to transport Raymond to Mahelona Medical Center in Kapaa without rendering him incapacitated with injections containing two different antipsychotic medications, according to records.
Raymond remained incapacitated and was forced to move in with his parents, according to records that say he could barely move for six months.