UAMS has a policy against taking video of staff and equipment in the hospital. My son Sean and I are challenging that policy in the Arkansas Circuit Court and may move it to the federal court.

The policy violates the patients’ constitutional right to free speech and equal protection of the law when the patient is held without consent or court order. Probably, when the medical personnel obtain a court order, the court should also require that the involuntary patient be allowed to video his treatment.

The UAMS policy specifies that if a patient or guest is recording and does not stop when asked, the guest should be removed by security. When Sean was imprisoned and I took videos, I was threatened with removal by Nurse Shannon Cobb and others. So I did not video as much as I should have.

But if the patient refuses to stop, what will the doctors and nurses at UAMS do? Throw the patient out?

When Sean tried to leave, the staff tackled him and tied him to a hospital cot. If Sean had tried to video, once bound, he would not be able to. But, there would be footage of the attack.

As it happened, UAMS took surveillance video of the hallway chases and take-downs; but the video was destroyed.

In retrospect, I should have explained to Sean the importance of always making a good record. Even people like Dr. Joseph Margolick and Dr. Nolan Bruce, who are highly paid, powerful government employees, deny holding Sean without consent or court order and refuse to compensate their victim unless he files and wins a lawsuit.

You can see the video I managed to take here. Aphasia Exacerbated at UAMS