Society puts a great deal of trust in our doctors and medical facilities, and rightfully so. A competent and comforting doctor can do everything from giving a child an annual check-up to performing a life-saving surgery. But despite their advanced training and education, doctors are still capable of human errors, mistakes and flaws. Due to the importance of their position, a doctor’s negligence can often result in serious injury or even death. One would expect that hospitals closely monitor their doctors and nurses to make sure that they are not engaging in any careless or illegal behavior, but all too often hospitals can be just as careless as some of their employees.
LeAnn Erikson filed a negligence lawsuit against the Mid Columbia Medical Center (MCMC) in The Dalles, Oregon after she was sexually assaulted by her doctor during her surgery. LeAnn went to the MCMC for a blood patch procedure that required her to undergo anesthesia. During the surgery, LeAnn alleges that one of her doctors, Frederick Field, sexually assaulted her. Specifically, LeAnn claims that she awoke during her surgery and saw Dr. Field putting her hand on his penis and forcing her to masturbate him.
During an investigation, it was reportedly discovered that this was not the first complaint of misconduct against Dr. Field. According to lawyersandsettlements.com, two years prior to LeAnn’s incident, a patient called hospital administrators and reported being sexually assaulted during a surgery by Field. Hospital administrators did not investigate this claim and did not report this to police for investigation. There were multiple other reports, and in all, 19 patients reported being abused by Dr. Field, including one employee who allegedly was raped while under anesthesia. Local police arrested Dr. Field and charged him with sexual abuse and rape in 2011. He later pled guilty and was sentenced to a 23 year prison term. Meanwhile, an Oregon court recently found the hospital to have been grossly negligent for their failure to investigate and act on Dr. Field’s alleged misbehavior. As a result, they were ordered to pay LeAnn $950,000 for what she was forced to experience.
If you or a family member have experienced pain and suffering due to the negligence of your doctor, you may be entitled to compensation. Massachusetts medical malpractice victims are awarded money compensation for lost wages, medical expense reimbursement and rehabilitation expenses, among other damages. We are experts in our field. Call us at 617-787-3700, 24/7, or email us at info@gilhoylaw.com for your free and private consultation. Your needs are our top priority!