| Press Conference, Monday, 11/10/03, at 10 a.m. Santa Monica Courthouse / Main Street Entrance |
“If anyone was aware of Ms. Bembenek's mental condition, it was Dr. Phil and his staff. The callous disregard for her rights and safety is astonishing, even more so from a 'Dr.' who was more concerned with the success and ratings of his show, than the person on it”
Laurie Bembenek, who is famous for being convicted of murder, escaping to Canada, returning to the U.S. and being subsequently released, filed a lawsuit today against television's Dr. Phil & Paramount Pictures for injuries that she received before the second taping of his show in Nov. 2002. The suit lists False Imprisonment, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and Negligence as causes for damages.
Bembenek's injuries occurred when she fell from a bedroom window while attempting to break free from being imprisoned by staff of the Dr. Phil show, the suit claims. The suit also states that the injury caused by the fall culminated in the amputation of her right leg below the knee.
"By having more concern for television ratings and advertising dollars than for the safety and well being of their guests, the Dr. Phil show acted recklessly, carelessly and in a grossly unethical manner," said Bembenek's attorney Stephen Bernard, of Nagelberg & Bernard of Los Angeles.
Bembenek was scheduled to do a follow-up show from an October 2002 appearance on the Dr. Phil show. The November show was to get "live" DNA results from her recently re-opened murder case. Bembenek, who has always professed her innocence, was eager to find out the results of the DNA test that she believed would clear her name.
According to the suit, Bembenek's flight and hotel arrangements were changed at the last minute by the Dr. Phil show. Instead of being taken to the Renaissance Hotel, she was separated from her friends and driven around Los Angeles for a prolonged period of time, ignoring her requests to stop while they filmed. Bembenek was isolated and confined unlike her first visit to the Dr. Phil Show.
The suit alleges that after driving around for over an hour with cameras in her face, Bembenek's pleas to be taken to the hotel were ignored. She was taken to an undisclosed apartment complex in Marina Del Rey, Calif. Once inside, Bembenek was informed by producers that she was not allowed to leave, and was again interviewed in an ambush style. All outside connections had been removed, no telephones, television, radio or computers. They also demanded that she turn over her cell phone, the only means to stay in communication with her gravely ill father, whom she had been taking care of. All of her requests were denied.
The suit claims that Bembenek became distraught, anxious and felt imprisoned, which triggered a panic attack. Consequently, she attempted to escape through the bedroom window, tying bed sheets together as a rope. In the process, the sheets became undone, causing Bembenek to fall to the ground which caused several severe fractures that resulted in amputation of her right leg, below the knee.
According to the suit, the Dr. Phil show was fully aware, from Bembenek herself and from her prior appearance on the show, and from their own research, that she suffered from panic attacks, anxiety attacks, significant stress disorder and claustrophobia that stemmed in part from spending years in prison and time in solitary confinement.
"If anyone was aware of Ms. Bembenek's mental condition, it was Dr. Phil and his staff. The callous disregard for her rights and safety is astonishing, even more so from a 'Dr.' who was more concerned with the success and ratings of his show, than the person on it," Bernard added.
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