ROGERS, Ark. (NewsNation) — Former patients of Arkansas psychiatrist Brian Hyatt are coming forward, accusing him of false imprisonment.
William VanWhy is one of 26 former patients who have filed a lawsuit against Hyatt and Northwest Medical Center, claiming false imprisonment.
“I asked to leave every day for the last three days and they would not let me leave,” VanWhy said. “You’re scared and you are under this rock of power.”
The former patient had checked himself in but had to obtain a court order to finally be released after five days.
When he was admitted in the middle of the night, VanWhy said he wasn’t seen by a medical professional for about a day. Staff at the medical center even tried to prescribe him medicine he was actually allergic to on the first day without speaking to him first.
“During my stay there, I never saw a doctor at all,” VanWhy said.
VanWhy was never treated by Hyatt nor did he ever even see him roaming the halls. He was only seen by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who worked under Hyatt.
Traveling nurse Shannon Williams, another former patient of Hyatt, claims she was also held against her will and believes they were part of a billing scheme that is being investigated by the state attorney general’s office.
“I lost two people very close to me and found myself pretty distraught and was taken to the emergency room,” Williams said.
Along with the false imprisonment, VanWhy said Hyatt billed his insurance almost $15,000 for his hospital stay. But the most concerning part is just how often Hyatt actually saw VanWhy and Williams during their stays.
“I never saw Dr. Hyatt,” Williams said.
Since then, more red flags have surfaced.
In a search warrant issued by the Arkansas State Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Hyatt repeatedly charged his patients with a billing code that paid the most.
“I found myself in a nightmare is all I can say,” Williams said.
Aaron Cash, the attorney representing all 26 patients suing Hyatt and the medical center, explained that Arkansas does have a 72-hour hold period where doctors can hold patients if they see it in the best interest of the patient and the public.
However, Cash said that wasn’t the case in all 26 of his patients’ experiences. He said that the law in Arkansas was not being followed.
“After that point, you’re supposed to file a lawsuit in court to keep people beyond the 72 hours and that was not being done. Some were being held up for two weeks,” Cash said.
Hyatt was the chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board but stepped down in May. In his resignation letter, he said, “I am not resigning for any wrongdoing on my part but so that the board can continue its important work without delay or distraction.”
The hospital terminated Hyatt following the accusations and denied any malpractice.
Hyatt has also denied all allegations against him.