Skip To...
A woman seeking treatment at a New York hospital for what she described as a “hole in the back of [her] throat” ended up getting arrested after refusing to leave the emergency department. She insisted that the staff had not properly addressed her condition and said she would not walk out until she saw proof of her treatment in her medical chart. The patient had first been approached by two nurses who entered her cubicle to tell her that she had officially been discharged, but she immediately pushed back, telling them, “I would like to see in my medical form where you treated me for this issue.”
One of the nurses reminded her that everything had already been explained earlier, yet the woman continued to argue, saying she had a legal right to be shown exactly what care she received. When the nurse calmly replied that the results could be sent to her, the patient insisted that she wanted to see them “right now,” not later.
Realizing the conversation was going nowhere, the nurses eventually handed her a card and a folder, repeated that she had been discharged, and stepped out of the cubicle.
The Police Get Involved
Moments later, about three police officers arrived at the unit. The woman did not appear intimidated and immediately told them she was “not getting taken care of.” When one of the officers explained, “From what I’m being told by medical staff, you were taken care of,” she held out her discharge papers and argued, “You can look at this and see that they did nothing. It literally tells me to take mouthwash and take little sips of water with my food. This is not medical care.”
She went on to explain that she feels “traumatized” by the hospital and claimed the staff “have gaslit me so much about my medical issues.” She also told the officers that although she had been referred to a specialist, she couldn’t get an appointment because the ENT clinic was backed up for months. As a result, she came to the emergency department because she was struggling to eat and swallow her pills. “I don’t need to be a medical professional to know that a hole in the back of my throat that’s getting food stuck in it is not a good thing,” she argued.
The officers tried to reason with her, explaining that the hospital did not consider her condition emergent and that she could call any ENT specialist and schedule an appointment using her referral. “Their forte is not ENT. They don’t have the level of care you are requiring,” one officer said. Still, the woman insisted that all the staff did was “shine a light in the back of [her] throat,” which she believed was not enough.
Her Arrest
After going back and forth for several minutes, one of the officers eventually pulled back her privacy curtain and told her, “It’s time for you to leave. It’s way past your time. They’ve discharged you.” She still refused to get up. Even when her brother quietly pleaded with her to leave so the situation wouldn’t escalate, she refused to move. “If they’re going to arrest me because I’m asking for adequate care, they can arrest me,” she said.
With the officers repeatedly warning her that she was now trespassing, she continued to stay seated. After several more attempts to get her to walk out on her own, the officer finally told her to stand up and turn around so he could place her in handcuffs. When she still refused, she was arrested for trespassing. As of now, she is still insisting that the hospital did nothing to assist her.
Netizens’ Reactions to the New York Patient’s Situation
The woman recorded the entire encounter with hospital staff and police officers and uploaded the videos to TikTok. While a few commenters expressed support, including someone urging her to “get a lawyer and sue them personally,” and another insisting she had “every right to know her medical records,” the majority sided with the hospital workers.
One person claiming to be a nurse wrote, “They’re not required by law to give you your medical records on the spot. You can request them or check your MyChart.” Someone else commented, “That nurse did great in this situation.” Another viewer added, “Please don’t abuse these nurses. They’re just doing their jobs.” A different commenter noted, “This is why so many are leaving bedside nursing jobs. They did nothing wrong besides not bringing security sooner.”
