‘They will let me die’: Black woman claims her medical needs were shrugged off by doctors who judged her by the color of her skin

A woman who was admitted to hospital for chest pain has taken to TikTok to speak out against the allegedly racist treatment she received at the hands of doctors and nurses. The woman, who works as a pharmacist, claimed that she was not given medication for the pain and that her needs were ignored by staff due to the color of her skin.

The video, posted by Dr. Cliff Luxable, in which she made the accusations against the hospital and claimed “black women die in hospitals for a reason,” has already been viewed millions of times.

She claimed that she was admitted to the hospital after severe chest pains, which she claimed were so bad that it had her holding her chest. But according to Luxable, the hospital staff had not given her anything for the pain, and when she pressed the “pain button” on her bed, they apparently asked her, “Why are you pressing the button?”

Luxable went on to say, “This is why black people die in hospitals, because I am black, but I am not immune to pain.” She went on to continue documenting her experience, claiming that doctors also let her pee all over herself, put her on “two liters of oxygen,” and didn’t put her on nitroglycerin despite her chart saying she should be. 

Ultimately, she advocated for black women to speak up for themselves, telling her viewers that if she didn’t say something, “They will let me die.” At the end of the video, the woman is asked by a nurse if she’s recording, and she claimed that security was later called on her.

Luxable documented her mistreatment at the hospital

In another video, Luxable appeared much more agitated, as she addressed the hospital administration directly. “Nobody in your hospital has treated me!” she claimed. “Nobody even offered me oxygen; nobody offered me aspirin. I had to recommend all these things.” She claimed that staff had given her nothing but lies and excuses.

Viewers were appalled at the woman’s alleged treatment at the hands of medical staff. One commenter told her to ask for an ombudsman immediately, telling her that the “number should be somewhere in that room.”

Others shared their own experiences involving alleged racism within hospitals. One commenter, who said they were Latina, claimed nurses refused to treat them “until my friend that was with me showed proof of my legal status to the nurses while I was seizing in front of them.” Others claimed they were accused of seeking pain medication and refused treatment.

In a similar case earlier this year, a black mom had to fight for her son to be given narcotics to help with his pain after major brain and stomach surgeries.

Luxable was ultimately discharged but encouraged black women to advocate for themselves in hospital after she was allegedly made to feel invisible by staff.