The Littler Document: Discrimination Causes Poor Care | updated 3-1-2014

The Littler Document – Lies and Perjury Part 1

Discrimination Causes Poor Care

This is my story; my story about how discrimination—age, race, ethnicity, gender, perceived alcoholism, and perceived mental disorder—resulted in poor care. In other words, discrimination causes poor care. Discrimination caused poor healthcare at Tufts Medical Center. This is the story of my battle with Tufts Medical Center, David vs Goliath.

The rebuttal letter from Tuft’s powerful law firm, the Littler document, signed by Tufts Medical Center under risk of perjury, is re-imaged below. This document paints a very ugly picture of me. I appear to be a violent, black, crazy female, yelling racial profanities at everyone. Tufts Medical Center’s defense attempted to label me a drunken, black, female racist (blame the victim, make the victim look guilty).

The top part of the Littler document states an exemption from public disclosure, but I did not sign a form agreeing to such terms. Also, this letter was not hand delivered to me; I did not receive it from Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) until around June 2013.

The letter paints me as a racist and a loud-mouthed, intoxicated, crazy ghetto girl. MCAD bought Tufts Medical Center’s story immediately–why? MCAD did not bother to check Tufts Medical Center’s unsubstantiated claims or consider the inconsistencies and illogical story that Tufts Medical Center offered. Why? Isn’t that their job?

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The Littler document states I was “shouting.” How could I shout with comminuted fractures on both sides of my jaw, and a dislocation on one side plus a gaping wound?

Also, note I am described as uncooperative, unruly and belligerent. If so, why was the same emergency department staff able to, without sedation:

-Start a hep lock,

– Draw at least 5-6 tubes of blood including a type & cross-match for urgent surgery

– Send a unsedated patient for imaging studies to the Radiology department

How was Radiology able to perform a Head CT, a CT of C-Spine and facial films without sedation? These studies require patients to remain still, or else the scans cannot be done, sometimes despite sedation. In addition, the radiology technician is usually alone yet did not call for help from this alleged unruly belligerent patient. Odd, don’t you think?

Radiology did not observe or document uncooperative behaviors or profanities or racial name-calling, and the technician documented the times of X-ray which helped my recollection.

Why would Tufts Medical Center do this ? I do not know, but I suspect stress brought out the Tufts Medical Center Emergency Department staff and doctor’s hidden biases. From there, a racist street bully mentality prevailed, and I was a victim. None of the unruly behavior or “shouting” stated in the Littler documented ever occurred.

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The Littler document also contradicts itself and uses racially codified words and statements to mischaracterize and degrade my reputation within the community.

In addition, Tufts Medial Center violated my privacy and confidentiality, and likely forged my signature on the Consent for Treatment in the ED. Tufts Medical Center also sent me an altered medical record (thin chart) after my signed request for the release of my medical record. After repeated requests, I finally received the second, thicker medical record in December 2013. Redacting my medical record is unethical. As for the rest, we shall see how blind the eyes of justice are in MA. Additionally, the two charts are totally different.

Numerous unsubstantiated contradictions and racially codified statements are made by Tufts Medical Center. As you will see, the Littler document contradicts itself. For example, the Tylenol story: first the letter states that the ED staff told me to take nothing by mouth, and then that the ED gave me oral Tylenol. This contradicts the chart where there is no documentation of Tylenol being given orally or rectally. (I was never given Tylenol or anything by mouth the entire 15-17 hours in the ED.)

Medical-Records-from-Tufts-Medical.12 — Two Different Charts; same person, same request form. Why? How did this happen?

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I presented with severe head/facial injuries along with an altered mental status, loss of consciousness, and new onset severe hypertension. What diagnoses immediately come to mind?

Syncope or seizures could be the reason for my fall, but the Tufts Medical Center ED doctor assumed I was intoxicated. Why? I was not unruly or uncooperative as stated. The ED staff was unruly and uncooperative.

Why did Dr. Shroff not examine me? He barely even touched me. I fell flat on my face without breaking my fall, and he made a huge and incorrect assumption without any backup or a blood alcohol level test. He did not even examine me—no EKG and no neurological exam.

Intoxication is defined as having a blood alcohol level of 0.8, at which point one’s decision-making capacity is impaired. Why was there no blood alcohol test? Why was that diagnosis made without proper and necessary documentation? I think Dr. Shroff intentionally labeled me an alcoholic to discredit any complaints.

The standard of medical care requires an alcohol level extraordinarily higher than 0.8 for the type of injuries I incurred. Furthermore, Dr. Sunil Shroff proved that my decision-making capacity was not impaired when he allowed me to sign out Against Medical Advice (AMA); yet he charted that I was “mildly intoxicated.” Should mildly intoxicated people drive? Intoxication means impaired decision-making capacity.

I never said I was an alcoholic. Why did the staff make that assumption? From the moment I arrived at Tufts Medical Center, ED staff mischaracterized and labeled me as the loud-mouth, drunk black female, shouting racial profanities. They would not provide me with relief, despite my patience and immense pain. I was spitting up blood, crying—my tears mixed with blood—and I could not open my mouth, yet they made fun and yelled at me. Three staff, including the nurse, Stacia Khorey, made fun of my mannerisms and the way I talked. Why were they so unprofessional and cruel?

They ignored my request for pain medication. I was so desperate for pain relief, I asked for Tylenol.

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Sadly, this assumption became the reason given for my fall. No one cared. They made assumptions that I was a stereotypical drunk black ghetto female. In the medical profession, such assumptions have cost millions of lives.

Alcohol abuse is now part of my record. I now have a false “history of alcohol abuse.” Isn’t that amazing? My husband was an alcoholic who committed suicide, so this label was painful, and it will be part of Tufts records. By the way, this history can be used against me later.

The above is an introduction. Many of you may not appreciate the subtleties of this real-life example of how discrimination manifests. Discrimination causes poor care; discrimination is a primary and understated reason for health disparities among the races.

I was not called nigger, but more harm was done in the 15-17 hours of unsupervised abuse and mistreatment than I ever experienced in my life. This will be a difficult story to rehash, but I will have to.

Part 2 – A Look at the Littler document in time…I would like an audience first…I am going to call the attorney general’s office in MA or go to the police station. Tufts Medical Center forged my signature on the Consent to Treat in their ED. Of course, there are no laws stating this is illegal in MA, but maybe the rest of the country and world should know about the practices at Tufts Medical Center and the legal policies in the State of MA.

Update: Called attorney general’s office–waste of time. Spoke with an attorney regarding the police report, which was also a waste.

Come warm weather, if we are still at battle, I will be at your front doors with pictures and flyers.

{ By the way, my idea to Tweet a story was flawed. }

Littler Document

Below are the stated providers — in the ED at Tufts Medical Center. They are part of the Culture of Corruption and Cruelty that has taken control of medicine. WATCH OUT!!!