US radio host Don Imus sued by doctor for slander

By Jeanne King

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A pediatric doctor is suing outspoken
radio host Don Imus for slander, claiming Imus defamed him by
calling him “one of the worst doctors in the world” during his
“Imus in the Morning” show.

In court papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the
physician, Dr. Howard Allen Pearson, said that Imus falsely
told his audience that the doctor “did not care if children
suffered.”

Contacted at his radio station on Tuesday, Imus declined to
respond to questions about the case.

Imus owns a ranch in New Mexico, which he says aims to give
a cowboy experience to children suffering from cancer and other
issues. The facility hosts about 100 children annually.

Imus’s comments came after Pearson, a pediatric cancer and
blood specialist who frequently attended to children at the
ranch, treated a child in July 2004.

Pearson was called to attend to a girl complaining of back
pain, but because the call did not seem to be an emergency he
chose to walk the short distance to treat her rather than
accept a lift from Imus’s wife, the suit said.

According to court papers filed last week and made public
on Monday, Imus approached Pearson shortly after he attended to
the child. Carrying a hunting knife and revolver, Imus screamed
and cursed at Pearson for about 10 minutes, calling him an
arrogant doctor “who doesn’t mind letting a child suffer,” the
suit said.

It said that on his radio show the next day, Imus “spewed
out patently slanderous aspersions,” accusing Pearson of
“professional incompetence.” Imus repeated the comments on four
later occasions, causing Pearson to be exposed “to public
hatred, shame, contempt, ridicule, ostracism, degradation and
disgrace,” it said.

The lawsuit also accuses Imus of civil assault.

Pearson is seeking unspecified damages.