SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A lawyer for a Rapid City-area hospital, its board of directors and physicians are denying a claim by a Native American man who says the letters KKK were carved into his stomach at the hospital.
Vern Traversie is a 69-year-old Lakota man living on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. Traversie has sued Rapid City Regional Hospital, the hospital's board of directors and several others claiming the three letters were left on his abdomen following heart surgery last year.
Though he is blind, Traversie says others have told him the scars left after his heart surgery form the letters.
In court documents, lawyer Jeffrey Hurd says there is no medical evidence to corroborate the allegations.
Traversie's spokesman says it was expected that the hospital would deny the accusations.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Monday, May 20 2013 1:00 PM EDT2013-05-20 17:00:47 GMT
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Vern Traversie (YouTube)
