Claiming Anti-Gay Discrimination, NYC Man Sues Hospital

A man is suing a New York City-area hospital for discrimination, claiming he was ignored and that staffers used gay slurs towards him during a September trip to the emergency room, the New York Daily News reports.

Mike Hodson, 34, filed a discrimination lawsuit against Brooklyn's Methodist Hospital Thursday. His suit claims he was left unconscious on the emergency room floor as employees ignored him and allegedly assumed he was a drug addict with AIDS. The Brooklyn Federal Court suit claims one healthcare aide, who is unidentified, called Hodson a "fag" and a "junkie."

Hodson said he had flu-like symptoms, including a 104-degree fever, when he arrived at the hospital on Sept. 1. The suit says he was too weak to speak and could hardly stand and needed to be helped to the E.R. by people in the waiting room and a security guard. Nevertheless, he collapsed and a health care aide allegedly yelled that he did not want to touch him because he probably had AIDS.

The suit alleges Hodson was "shunted" into an office chair, fell to the floor again, hit his head and suffered a seizure.

"The nurse screamed that she was going to lose her license, to which the health care aide retorted, 'This fag isn't going to cause you to lose your license,'" the suit reads, according to the New York Daily News.

After Hodson was finally moved he later realized he was allegedly robbed, claiming credit cards, jewelry and his iPhone were gone from his satchel.

"Simply put, Mr. Hodson suffered 11 hours of total torture," lawyer Thomas Mullaney said in the court documents.

Hodson, along with his husband Babak Kheshti, who is also listed as a plaintiff in the suit, say the incident caused them extreme physical and emotional suffering.

The New York Daily News notes the court documents to not allege discriminatory treatment from hospital physicians. It's also unclear how much money Hodson and Kheshti are seeking in damages.