Detroit-Area Doctor Allegedly Preys on Children to Increase His Pay

Oakwood, MI—a doctor accused of falsely diagnosing children to put more money in his pockets will soon face a lawsuit brought by the parents of seven children who argue that their children needlessly suffered because of the doctor’s greed. Dr. Yassar Awaad, a pediatric neurologist at Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center, is accused of falsely diagnosing hundreds of Detroit-area children with epilepsy just to raise his pay at Oakwood since his earnings were directly tied to the number of procedures he performed.

Brian and Angel guy and their son, Brian Guy Jr., are but one of the families named in the lawsuit, which was brought against the hospital and Dr. Awaad. When they first came to Dr. Awaad, Brian and Angel expressed a desire to have more children. However, Dr. Awaad warned the couple against doing so, because, he said, their first child already had epilepsy and any other children they had would have it, too. In fact, Dr. Awaad diagnosed Brian Jr. with epilepsy when he was just three-years-old, put him on a powerful anti-seizure drug, and ordered him to undergo brain tests four times a year. However, when Brian Jr. began to complain of memory problems, sleepiness, and weakness the couple decided to take their son to another doctor in 2007. After testing Brian Jr. for epilepsy, the results were negative. The couple was outraged and devastated that their son had taken unnecessary medications for six years of his life.

The lawsuit specifically charges that Awaad falsely and intentionally misdiagnosed hundreds of children with epilepsy and even implanted devices into the brains of some of the children to “prevent” them from having seizures. Additionally, the lawsuit charges the hospital with failing to properly monitor Awaad even after other doctors alerted the hospital about concerns that Awaad was misdiagnosing his patients. Finally, the lawsuit also alleges that Oakwood never told patients to return for follow-up appointments once the hospital knew that Awaad was under investigation.