Imus sued for slander
A doctor who once took care of sick children at Don Imus' New Mexico ranch has sued the I-man for slander, claiming he made false derogatory comments about him on his show. Dr. Howard Pearson, a pediatric cancer specialist, claims that on four days last year on-air, Imus said Pearson "was one of the worst doctors in the world and did not care if children suffered."
Pearson's lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's State Supreme Court on Friday, says Imus became upset because he "misunderstood" the physician's response to a call around 7:40 a.m. on 7/13/04, that a child at the ranch was in pain. Pearson left the main house and began the quarter-mile walk to the infirmary, court papers say. Because the nurse had said there was no emergency, he declined a ride offered by Imus' wife, Deirdre.
The doctor says he arrived at the infirmary at 7:45 a.m., gave the child pain medicine, and she resumed normal activities. About 45 minutes later, court papers say, Imus pulled up in his truck, jumped out and began yelling and cursing at Pearson.
Imus, "ashen, shaking and unstable," and armed with a gun and a knife, screamed at Pearson for about 10 minutes, calling him "an arrogant %$#& doctor who doesn't mind letting a child suffer," court papers say.
Imus repeated his comments about Pearson on his radio show on July 14, 15, and 16, and on Nov. 4, 2004, court papers allege, causing the doctor "distress, shock, humiliation and economic loss."
On the suit, Imus reportedly said Pearson was called to treat "a 16-year-old girl from Afghanistan who had been up all night in abject agony and pain. The place was a quarter mile away and he refused to get in the truck. He said he wanted to walk down there. He's about 80 years old, and the way he walks, who knows how long it would take him to get there? I thought it was just the most outrageous and repulsive behavior in a doctor. It's disgraceful."
Pearson's lawsuit names Imus, NBC, MSNBC and Westwood One as defendants. It asks unspecified damages for defamation and slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
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