Lodi physician Dr. Gordon Bruce Roget, 68, recently had his license revoked by the Medical Board of California after being accused of sexual assault, driving under the influence of alcohol and other misconduct charges.
A sexual offense report was filed with the Lodi Police Department in 2015, according to Lt. Sierra Brucia.
“We received a report of a sexual offense by Roget in 2015. We sent the report to the district attorney’s office, but they did not press charges,” he said.
Roget, who initially received his license on Sept. 18, 1979, could not be reached for comment, and a phone number associated with his former practice has been disconnected.
A search of San Joaquin Superior Court records showed that Roget was the defendant in multiple civil lawsuits, including professional negligence in 1992, breach of contract in 2002 and medical malpractice in 2003. Roget was also arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in September 2016.
The Medical Board of California made the decision to revoke Roget’s license on May 31 of this year, and the decision became effective on June 30, according to a report from the board detailing claims of sexual exploitation and misconduct, repeated acts of gross negligence and preparing of his own saline solution. He also failed to maintain adequate records and pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol.
In the report, one patient alleged she met Roget in his office on Feb. 25, 2016 for a labiaplasty procedure, where he repeatedly asked her if she wanted to be put to sleep, which she declined as she wanted to watch him. She asked him for antibiotics as he had not told her to take any before the procedure, a mistake he did not realize at the time, the report said.
According to the patient, after injecting a local anesthetic, Roget placed his face inches away from her vaginal area. He touched her in a way she felt was inappropriate, asking if she was married and inviting her to Las Vegas, she said. She felt uncomfortable and afraid to be alone with him, as he had said that he always carried a gun. Roget then began cutting her labia, stopping to place two fingers into her vagina, she said. When she asked him why, he responded, “You didn’t like it?” When she said it had nothing to do with the surgery, he replied, “You either like it or you don’t,” before leaving the room angrily. She heard noises from a nearby room, which she believed sounded like masturbation. She considered leaving the office, but “felt like a hostage,” as she was naked from the waste down, bleeding and sitting in a chair four feet above the ground.
Roget resumed the procedure after he returned to the room, in what she called an “aggressive manner.” After suturing the incision, he told her he would finish the procedure the next week, not that day. After she “cried and begged” for him to finish that day, he refused and called her an “ungrateful b—-,” telling her to get dressed and watching as she did so, the report said.
The patient said she immediately reported the incident to the Lodi Police Department, before going to St. Joseph’s Medical Center, where she was examined and given wound care instructions and pain medication. She removed the sutures herself, noticing that her pain decreased immediately, the report said.
The patient reportedly returned to the Lodi Police Department on March 7, 2016, making a phone call to Roget that police recorded. She asked if his offer to take her to Las Vegas was still on the table, which he confirmed. When she asked if he thought she felt “loose” when he touched her, he said that he would check again when he next saw her.
When the patient made another call to Roget on April 4, 2016, also recorded by Lodi police, he invited her to Maine. When she said that she had not had sex in a while and asked about using protection, he told her that he had a vasectomy. When she asked if he was checking her looseness when he touched her, he said that he was “feeling her uterus or something.”
Dr. Debra Johnson, a certified plastic surgeon, gave an expert opinion for the Medical Board in which she stated that it is standard practice for a female patient to have a female chaperone present when being examined by a male doctor, and no such chaperone was present during the patient’s labiaplasty. Johnson also noted that the patient provided photos and videos showing that Roget wore no hair covering and used only a single paper towel under her buttocks, with no drapes on her legs or abdomen to create a sterile field. Johnson also said there is no reason for Roget to insert his fingers into a patient’s vagina during a labiaplasty, and that he did not mark the labial skin prior to making the “irregular” incisions.
The Medical Board’s report also noted a sexual relationship between Roget and another patient which went on for three or four years, which Roget said began when she first became his patient. Roget performed breast augmentation and scar revision surgery, provided Botox injections and fillers and prescribed thyroid medications during this time. Roget also prescribed Flurazepam, an older benzodiazepine not often used as a sleep aid, to the patient on multiple occasions, the report said. He did not record their encounters, procedures he performed or reasons for prescribing Flurazepam
During an interview with Medical Board investigators on April 18, 2016, Roget admitted to preparing his own saline solution in his home from salt obtained from the Internet and distilled water during a nationwide shortage. Roget mixed the solution with lidocaine and epinephrine to make surgical anesthesia, saying that none of his patients developed infections. Johnson admitted that saline solution was not impossible to find during a 2014 shortage, adding that her own office purchased some from a local hospital when their distributor ranout, but Johnson found no proof that he sterilized the solution.
Roget was arrested on Aug. 18, 2016, when Lodi Police Officer Gerald Bahr found that Roget had parked his Jeep in a traffic lane, exited the vehicle, fallen to the ground and crawled to the pavement where he tried to open a parked Mitsubishi with his Jeep key. With slurred speech, Roget told Bahr that he was trying to get into a Saturn before trying to open the Misubishi’s door again with his house key. Roget admitted to drinking “300 milliliters” of alcohol, which Bahr could smell on him. Bahr arrested Roget for public intoxication.
Police Officers Nathan Woods and Stephen Blomstedt were dispatched to a report of an occupied vehicle on Aug. 31, 2016, where they found Roget in a stopped vehicle in the middle of a road with its lights off with his genitals exposed. Roget smelled of urine and alcohol, and once again had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Roget looked confused when asked what he was doing, claiming not to know why he stopped in the middle of the road.
Roget lost his balance as he walked to the sidewalk from his car, and Blomstedt grabbed his arm to stop him form falling. Roget, 67 years old at the time, told the officers that he was driving to the liquor store and drank “150 ml” of vodka several hours prior and did not feel intoxicated. Roget’s blood alcohol content measured at .28 percent when he was arrested.
Roget pleaded no contest to driving under the influence of alcohol in San Joaquin County Superior Court on Nov. 8, 2016 and was placed on informal probation for three years. He was ordered to enroll in a nine-month alcohol program, pay fines and fees and comply with other conditions. (LINK)—8/25/2017
There is a new website where you can look up your doctor to see if he/she has any disciplinary actions. It’s called “Caught—Doctors in Trouble” and is located at http://4patientsafety.org/mdb/search.php
Right now they are still entering disciplinary documents. They started with the present and are working their way backward. There are case profiles going back to mid-July of 2016.
Please reblog this so they can get higher results in google.
FLORIDA MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— ME55079 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS— Obligations imposed—no documents available online as of 8/18/2017
Miami surgeon, 89, downloaded porn featuring toddlers, police say
An 89-year-old Miami orthopedic surgeon was arrested Friday afternoon after police say they discovered he downloaded pornography depicting children as young as 2 to 3 years old.
Ignacio Calvo was booked into jail after being cuffed at his luxury Brickell penthouse. When confronted by police, they say the surgeon admitted to downloading the pornography “years ago.”
According to state health department records, Calvo’s physician’s license remains active. It could not immediately be determined how often he practices medicine but, according to state records, he retains privileges at a number of Miami-Dade facilities, including Hialeah Hospital and Coral Gables Hospital.
Agents targeted Calvo after finding he was offering at least 13 videos of child pornography through a site that allows users to swap media files. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and federal agents did a preliminary analysis of the laptop and found at least 10 child-porn files.
His defense attorney could not immediately be reached for comment. (LINK)—6/16/2017
What could get the doctor’s child porn charges dropped also could cost him his license
Calvo is 90 and has Alzheimer’s disease, according to Florida Department of Health discipline documents.
An Emergency Restriction Order (ERO) prohibits Calvo from further practicing medicine until a neuropsychological evaluator tells the Department of Health it’s safe for Calvo to do so.
Despite his age, Calvo still held staff privileges at Hialeah Hospital, Coral Gables Hospital, University of Miami Hospital, Palm Springs General Hospital and Columbia Kendall Medical Center.
But while the Department of Health goes through the long process of removing a 90-year-old doctor’s license, the same exams have been used to declare Calvo incompetent to stand trial on the child pornography charges from last year.
Calvo faced 20 counts of various child pornography possession and transmission charges. After police arrested Calvo at his Brickell penthouse on June 16, 2017, cops said he admitted he had downloaded the child pornography years before.
Calvo posted $80,000 bond on June 21, then was ordered to undergo a psychological examination to determine whether he had the competence to stand trial.
On July 7, the Department of Health’s administrative complaint says Calvo’s wife told psychologist Dr. Michael Scott that her husband “frequently required things to be repeated or asked the same thing over and over” and “had frequent problems remembering appointments, family occasions and holidays, and sometimes got lost while walking or driving in familiar places.”
Scott diagnosed Calvo as having major neurocognitive disorder/dementia and persistent depressive disorder with symptoms that indicated Alzheimer’s dementia and a vascular dementia.
“Dr. Scott opined that cognitive deficits such as Respondent’s are not typically reversible and usually worsen over time,” the ERO says.
Four days later, Dr. Gonzalo Yanez agreed with Scott about the Alzheimer’s and the prognosis. Dr. Manuel Alvarez, after a September exam, ruled Calvo “incompetent to stand a criminal trial based upon a combination of Alzheimer’s Dementia and unspecified depressive disorder” and after seeing Calvo’s brain atrophy on an MRI, “the likelihood of significant improvement, even with aggressive treatment, is unlikely.”
After that diagnosis and the bleak prognosis, prosecutors decided not to file charges on 10 of the counts against Calvo and “found incompetent” on the nine child porn possession and one child porn transmission charges. (LINK)—7/11/2018
FLORIDA MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— ME108534 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—no actions listed as of 8/04/2017
Doctor arrested for hit and run, destroying evidence
A Coral Springs doctor was arrested for a bizarre hit and run incident in St. Lucie County.
Florida Highway Patrol released the arrest warrant affidavit to CBS12 Thursday and said that Sibyl Simon, was arrested for damage to property, criminal mischief, and destroying evidence, both felony offenses.
The affidavit identifies Dr. Sibyl Simon, as an employee at the Lawnwood Regional Medical Center. Public records say she is a licensed psychiatrist from Coral Springs, Fla.
Troopers said on July 17th, FHP was dispatched to the Florida Turnpike near the 109 mile marker. Upon arrival at the scene, the trooper said he encountered the driver of a damaged red Suburu. The driver showed a cellphone picture of a white Toyota Prius with a FL tag bearing GVU511.
Troopers ran the tag, and linked the Toyota to a rental company. The car rental company told troopers that Dr. Simon rented the car.
When FHP became aware of where Dr. Simon was employed, they went Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and found the car in the parking lot. FHP said the damage was consistent with the damage they discovered on the red Suburu July 17 on the turnpike. FHP said the vehicle had been spray painted over the damaged area as an attempt to cover up the damage. Troopers discovered nail polish remover in the car, along with the spray paint.
Dr. Simon’s rental car was later towed, and she interviewed at the FHP Fort Pierce station shortly after.
Dr. Simon admitted that she was the person driving the vehicle, but denied any involvement in the collision July 17. She did, however, admit to spray painting the car to cover damages. Dr. Simon told troopers she backed into her garage on an inside rail.
The investigation concluded that Dr. Simon’s car had damage consistent with the crash and that she consciously made an effort to cover up the damages.
She was booked into St Lucie County Jail July 31 and released the same day after posting her $10,000 bond. (LINK)—8/03/2017
FLORIDA MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— OS4442 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—Accusation Filed; Reprimand
Lawsuit accuses Tampa doctor of sexually assaulting woman during a job interview
TAMPA, Fla. - She didn’t want her face shown or her name known, but a Tampa woman decided to break her silence after she said a job interview led to a sexual assault by a Tampa doctor. A doctor who, we uncovered, has had three similar cases.
“I feel like I am broken and damaged material,” said the victim while her voice cracked with every word as she recalled the incident. “I came out a different person.”
The victim shared what happened with her eight months ago during a job interview in a surgical room.
“I don’t understand why I couldn’t speak. Why I couldn’t push him off,” said the victim.
In a lawsuit filed by attorney Shaina Thorpe, the victim claimed that Dr. Robert Norman “pinned her against the wall…and sexually assaulted her.”
“The bottom line is that he effectively raped my client,” said Thorpe.
“I was humiliated and disgusted. I felt ashamed,” said the victim.
She said she was too traumatized to report the assault claim for two months. When she did, the lawsuit claimed prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to bring criminal charges and pursue the matter further.
“Quite honestly, I’m shocked,” said Thorpe as she recalled what she uncovered about Norman’s past.
Norman is linked to other issues of misconduct that were investigated by a total of three different state medical boards.
There are documents that also show Norman’s license was revoked in the state of Massachusetts in 1981. There, he faced another sexual assault allegation. In 1991, Florida’s State Board suspended his license for a year when he plead no contest to battery against two female patients.
“And then was somehow able to get it back after paying a $2,000 fine! Which to me, is absurd,” said Thorpe.
And most recently, in 2011, New Hampshire fined Norman $20,000 because he had claimed to have a license to practice in that state when he didn’t.
The Department of Health, in Florida, regulates licensed physicians. When asked about what the standard should be for doctors, a spokesperson would not comment directly about Norman. He only said that at the time of the 1991 case, another Florida state agency oversaw doctors.
Norman is still licensed to practice here in Florida.
“I do not want him to do this to anyone else,” said the victim when asked why she choose to speak out.
In an official statement on behalf of the State Attorney’s office, Rena Frazier stated that they “encourage victims to immediately come forward when they have been the victim of a sex crime, which will assist in successfully prosecuting these difficult cases.”
ABC Action News reached out to Norman’s attorney, but did not hear back for an official statement.
The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay helps victims of any and all types of assault. Click here for more information on how they can help.
The Department of Heath gave the following statement and included a link to report any physician misconduct:
“A top priority for the Florida Department of Health in administering any disciplinary action against a licensed practitioner is always patient safety. Additionally, we must follow the due process of law in order to ensure that the rights and entitlements of all parties to any action are given due consideration. While this is not always the timeliest process, it is nevertheless one we look to as a guide for maintaining the integrity of all boards and councils, and the department. We can assure the public that we will be diligent and thorough in protecting them from unsafe or unscrupulous health care practice.
All complaints received by the department are treated equally and reviewed thoroughly. Formal complaints from patients must be made in writing on the official complaint form. Once the complaint is received, it is assigned to an investigator for review. The department takes every complaint seriously and moves toward a swift resolution.
Legally sufficient complaints are presented to probable cause panel that is made up of members of the board. From the time that the initial complaint is made until 10 days after probable cause is found the complaint is confidential per Florida Statute 456.073
In the event that a health care provider poses an immediate danger to themselves or the public, the State Surgeon General has the authority to restrict or suspend a health care license through an Emergency Order.
In Emergency Orders there must be a finding indicating that the licensee poses an immediate serious threat to the public, or a portion of the public health, safety or welfare. It must also be determined that the conduct is likely to continue unless the Emergency Order is issued. Furthermore, the Emergency Order must be narrowly tailored so that it only restricts a person from doing conduct that would allow the complained of conduct to continue, absent the Emergency Order. We must truly have to say with sufficient support that the Emergency Order is necessary to protect the public from the immediate danger posed by the practitioner.” (LINK)—08/02/2017
Recent Comments