First hearing held for Dr. Brian Hyatt’s civil lawsuit

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The first hearing for Dr. Brian Hyatt’s civil lawsuit regarding accusations by hundreds of former patients alleging they were falsely imprisoned by him and Medicaid fraud was held on August 28.

The number of alleged victims continues to grow from the original 5 dozen claimants, to well over 200.

William VanWhy was a previous patient at Northwest Medical Center in Springdale. He appeared in court this morning to see what the next step is for the case. “I feel that I was unjustly wronged and I want to see that through. We were listening for the judge’s decision, on whether how they’re going to try the cases going forward, if they’re going to group them or not,” said VanWhy.

VanWhy is one of the 214 patients trying to have their day in the courtroom. VanWhy’s representation Bryant Crooks appeared before Judge Doug Martin of Washington County presenting a proposal for the trial management plan.

“They’re having a hearing today with the court about the trial management process and how we’re going to try these 214,” said Crooks. His purpose Wednesday morning was to see what Martin thought was an adequate plan for trial. Crooks is planning on getting justice for the 214 plaintiffs which could ultimately be 300 different cases.

“I talked with the judge about the best way to do that and what he thought the most effective way was to get justice in a reasonable amount of time,” said Crooks.

The plaintiff proposed to give each of their clients their day in court. “We’re asking the court to allow clients to have consolidated trials so that we can offer a mechanism to give them a reasonable chance to have their case heard and have justice done,” said Crooks.

Although the plaintiffs had a proposal, so did the Northwest Medical and Hyatt representation. However, the plaintiffs don’t agree with the defendant’s proposal. “We think the defendant’s Bellwether plan is designed to benefit the defendants and to deny our clients their day in court,” said Crooks.

Vanwhy is ready for a decision to be made, “The goal for me is to try this case in whatever form the judge decides is fair and as quickly as possible, so that we have justice and a fair trial.”

Hyatt’s attorneys denied a request for a comment.

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