TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— J0822 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS— none listed as of 2/26/2018
Family physician charged with capital murder in shooting deaths of couple
SAN ANTONIO — Investigators with the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 56-year-old man and charged him with killing a husband and wife near Seguin on Sunday morning.
According to Lt. Craig Jones, a 27-year-old man and his 30-year-old wife were shot to death just before noon on Timber Elm Road, which runs along the Guadalupe River in Guadalupe County, north of Lake McQueeney.
Jones said the motive for the murders remained under investigation, but added a suspect was arrested. He was identified as Robert Edward Fadal, II. Fadal is charged with capital murder of multiple persons and his bond was set at $2 million.
The identities of the victims have not been released. Lt. Jones said the victims and Fadal lived in the same neighborhood, although it was unclear whether the victims knew Fadal.
Investigators also confirmed Fadal is a physician. The Texas Medical Board lists Fadal as a general practice physician. (LINK)—2/26/2018
Seguin doctor charged in shooting deaths of couple has license suspended
Robert Fadal, 56, charged in deaths of Anthony Strait, Tiffany Strait
SEGUIN, Texas - The Texas Medical Board has suspended the license of a Seguin doctor days after he was charged in the shooting deaths of a couple who had come to the doctor’s home to help his mother move some furniture.
A board spokeswoman says the panel on Thursday suspended the license of Robert Fadal II, a 56-year-old family medicine doctor.
The board determined that he “poses a continuing threat to public welfare.”
The Guadalupe County sheriff’s office says 27-year-old Anthony Strait was shot moments after exiting his truck Sunday to assist Fadal’s mother.
Strait’s wife, 30-year-old Tiffany Strait, was shot as she rushed to her injured husband, officials say.
Authorities say the couple’s three young sons were in the truck during the shooting.
Online jail records don’t indicate an attorney for Fadal. (LINK)—3/02/2018
Seguin doctor accused of killings said he faced threats after infiltrating international conspiracy.
SEGUIN — The doctor charged with the murder of two neighbors in the Elm Grove subdivision later told investigators that he shot them because he feared they were Russian mobsters intent on killing his mother, who lived nearby, court records show.
But mere minutes after the Feb. 25 incident, 56-year-old Robert E. Fadal II emerged from his home and stated “he had killed two innocent people,” according to emergency responders who were trying to aid the victims, according to affidavits filed to obtain search warrants in the case.
Authorities suspect a factor in the crime may be drug use by Fadal, who they say appeared paranoid when questioned and spoke of receiving internet threats for having cracked a worldwide financial conspiracy.
Anthony and Tiffany Strait, who owned a landscape company, were apparently slain without warning after arriving from their nearby residence to help Fadal’s mother move some belongings, accompanied by their three sons, ages 7, 9 and 10.
“There is nothing indicating there was any disturbance, any altercation, any squabble between the parties,” said Lt. Craig Jones of the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Department, noting evidence suggests Fadal fired from a balcony at his nearby home.
Tiffany Strait, 30, died at a local hospital. Anthony Strait, 27, was pronounced dead inside the gated Fadal family compound, comprising several homes, at the end of Timber Elm Road.
The slayings devastated relatives of the Straits. The couple had been together nearly a decade but just wed last May.
“It’s a really rough time for us trying to understand why this man did this,” said Xiomara Strait, Anthony’s mom. “These were two beautiful people who had three beautiful children.”
Her son had quit an oilfield job in 2016 and started Strait A Landscaping so he could spend more time with his family, she said.
The crime also sent shock waves through the normally quiet neighborhood of double wides and traditional homes off Texas 46 near the Guadalupe River, just east of New Braunfels.
“It’s torn everybody apart,” said Alvin Ashcraft, 61, who heard the tragedy unfold from his home a block away. “Can’t nobody understand why he’d do that.”
There was “a bunch of screaming” by a woman and kids, he said, then a gunshot followed by more screaming, then another shot, followed by children’s screams.
“Fadal had a reputation as a hot head,’ said Ashcraft, adding, however, “He seemed normal to me.”
Kay Shaw, a neighbor of the Straits, recalled them as “super nice people.’
“When I heard what happened, I just came apart,” said Shaw, 64. “We were just dumbfounded.”
One warrant was used to secure a blood sample from Fadal, who seemed calm and displayed “a flat affect” while discussing the shooting, investigators said, leading them to suspect he was under the influence of methamphetamine or prescription drugs. Results of the test have not been made available.
Deputy Robert E. Murphy’s affidavit said Fadal refused to speak around any radios, internet-based devices or even a clock, saying he feared he would be recorded. He also asserted that his life was in jeopardy for having infiltrated an international monetary conspiracy.
“Robert Edward Fadal stated that he believed that the persons in the 2005 GMC Sierra who had arrived at his mother’s home were there to murder his mother in retaliation for his infiltration,” Murphy wrote. “Based on my training and experience, people who commit this kind of act for no apparent reason are under the influence of some sort of substance.”
Fadal is jailed in lieu of $5 million bail on a charge of capital murder of multiple persons. His attorney, James E. Millan, declined comment.
The suspect’s explanation of the deadly incident was met with skepticism and scorn by Strait’s family.
“He’s making up a story,” said Xiomara Strait. “There is a motive behind it, but he is not wanting to say what the motive is.”
She and her husband, Fred Zajonczkoski, said Fadal knew Anthony and Tiffany Strait from numerous past social visits to the compound and should have recognized them and their vehicle.
“That GMC had been in and out of that place many, many times,” Zajonczkoski said. “He’s trying to pull an insanity defense.”
Prosecutors, still awaiting the investigative report from the sheriff’s department, say the case won’t be presented to a grand jury before April 5, at the earliest.
Millan filed a motion Feb. 28 seeking an evidentiary hearing and a bond reduction, which a court clerk said has yet to be ruled on.
“All that’s on hold right now,” Millan said last week. “I can’t talk about anything right now.”
Investigators recovered a shotgun, two pistols and a rifle that is believed to be the murder weapon from Fadal’s home, according to an inventory filed with the court from a second warrant. Also recovered were several computers, ammunition, a hand-written letter and a spiral notebook with writing in it.
Deputy Mark ZuaZua said in the warrant application that Fadal admitted shooting the Straits and told investigators “‘of a suicide note in his residence regarding the Russian Mob and events occurring within the stock market.”
The defendant said he’d been the subject of online threats since he had investigated manipulations of the stock market, ZuaZua wrote, adding, “Robert stated within the last 2 weeks the threats increased as ‘they’ began leaving signs showing him ‘they’ knew where he lived.”
“Robert stated he became increasingly worried about his personal safety due to the ongoing threats and he had made preparations within the home to defend himself,” wrote ZuaZua, quoting Fadal as saying he believed the Straits “arrived at his mother’s residence to murder his mother in retaliation for his infiltration.”
On March 1, the Texas Medical Board temporarily suspended Fadal’s medical license due to his arrest after determining “his continuation in the practice of medicine poses a continuing threat to public welfare.”
Fadal notified the agency he was not in practice from 2006-09, said a board spokesman, who couldn’t say when the suspect last saw patients regularly. Fadal’s home address is listed online as the location of his practice.
A staffer at Guadalupe Regional Medical Center, where Fadal worked in the emergency room in the 1990s, recalled him as “brilliant,” but distant.
Fadal’s prior criminal history included seven traffic tickets between 1994 and 2012, according to Guadalupe County court records, which also list five civil disputes and his divorce.
Fadal filed for divorce in July 2007 after 13 years of marriage to Rebecca Castro Fadal, with whom he had two daughters.
Despite efforts to reconcile, the split was finalized in March 2012.
Castro declined comment for this story, as did Tiffany Strait’s family.
Veronica Carte, whose billing service briefly included Fadal as a client, recalled him as disorganized, demanding and unreasonable.
“It got to be so bad that I had to fire him. He was very, very difficult to deal with,” she said. “When I saw what had happened (to the Straits) on the news, I thought of all the problems I had with him.”
Fadal sued her in 2011 over their contract but the case was dismissed the next year.
Lisa Burns, whose local dental office once employed Tiffany Strait, is raising funds to benefit the three orphaned boys, who are in the care of their maternal grandparents.
“It’s a devastating circumstance across the board,” said Burns. “They were good people doing good things. They weren’t in a shady part of town. They weren’t doing something sketchy. They were helping move furniture on a Sunday morning.” (LINK)—3/10/2018
Georgia doctor’s license suspended in sexual misconduct case
A Georgia doctor with a history of sexually violating patients has had his license suspended after he was found to be a threat to the public.
The Georgia Composite Medical Board on Monday suspended the medical license of Dr. Narendra M. Patel after a board-ordered assessment at Vanderbilt University determined that the Dalton doctor is “unfit to practice medicine with female patients.”
Twenty years ago, Patel faced similar allegations.
In 1997 after he entered a guilty plea, under Georgia’s First Offender Act, to sexual battery involving a patient, the medical board suspended his license. The charges in that case involved the doctor placing his mouth on a patient’s breast without the patient’s consent, according to the order.
The 1997 disciplinary document said the board had received information about the doctor’s actions with other patients, suggesting a pattern of sexual misconduct involving female patients.
Despite the criminal conviction and allegations, the board later that year agreed to a process that allowed Patel to return to seeing patients under probation, with the requirement that he enter therapy and have a chaperone present in the exam room when seeing female patients. In 2003, the board ended probation and lifted all restrictions.
In its new order signed on Monday, the board said the doctor’s continued practice of medicine posed a threat to the public, which justified its emergency action to summarily suspend his license. He is entitled to an expedited hearing to contest the board’s action, according to the order.
Patel did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for an interview.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s award-winning Doctors & Sex Abuse series, published last year, uncovered cases of physician sexual misconduct from across the nation. The series determined that doctors who have sexually abused patients were frequently allowed to return to practice by medical licensing boards. (LINK)—8/01/2017
Dalton doctor’s license suspended in sexual misconduct case
The Composite State Board of Georgia Medical Examiners ruled on July 31st that Dr. Narendra Patel practicing medicine is a danger to public health, safety, and welfare.
In 1997 Patel was accused and plead guilty to sexual battery charges after he “placed his mouth on the breast of a female patient without the patient’s consent.”
The case was resolved by a Consent Order and Patel was placed on probation. During this time he was to comply with list of sanctions, including only examining female patients when a female chaperone is present.
His probation was lifted in 2003, and until 2017 he was seeing patients. Many of these patients had no idea that he had a past, but suspected there was something out of the ordinary during their visits.
“When he was done I asked him again, can you tell me why she had to completely undress for that, his response was ‘that’s just the way we do it here’. Melanie Johnston used to see Dr. Patel, but after what she described as uncomfortable visits, she decided to get care elsewhere.
"The whole visit was very odd strange and uncomfortable”
We reached out to Barbara Dorris of SNAP to ask if doctors should be allowed to practice after suspensions. Barbara says that in her experience, therapy and the list of stipulations do not solve the problem.
Barbara says, “ The system sort of favors the doctor, they have the power and they continue to practice while the case is working its way through the system.”
We reached out to Dr. Patel’s office - they did not want to comment on the matter. (LINK)—8/04/2017
Beverly Hills nurse files assault lawsuit against prominent doctor
A local nurse filed a lawsuit after she said her boss assaulted her at a Beverly Hills medical office - and there is surveillance video of the incident.
Nurse Paula Rickey has been a nurse for seven years and worked at 90210 Surgery Medical Center for five years.
Dr. Kerry Assil, an ophthalmologist with the surgery center, is at the center of the lawsuit she filed on Monday.
Grainy surveillance video from the corner of the medical office shows the moment, Rickey said, her boss assaulted her last June.
“As I was walking out of the operating suite he came up behind me, shoved the back of my head violently and then I stopped in front of a bathroom and stood there, and he called me back over and goes, ‘I know I can do this because you like the abuse,’” Rickey recalled.
Not only does Rickey accuse him of physically assaulting her, the lawsuit claims: “Assil exhibited an interest in sexual exploitation of Rickey, and that Assil’s sexual desires toward Rickey were a substantial factor motivating Assil’s batteries on Rickey.”
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, an affiliate of 90210 Surgery Medical Center, said in part, “We take great care to protect Cedars-Sinai employees as they do their work, and that means we take complaints seriously, investigate them thoroughly and act promptly.”
But Rickey said an investigation was conducted, and she feels the only person reprimanded was her. She claims they forced her to quit.
“They had asked me, ‘What do you want? And I said, ‘I want to continue my job, and I want to feel safe here, and I want him gone,’” she said.
“After that, they accommodated him. They made me work on a separate floor. My work hours were reduced because of that,” she continued.
Since leaving the medical center, Rickey said she’s stopped working and is focusing her efforts on the lawsuit.
“I took a ton of pride in that position,” she said. “I worked hard for it, and when that is taken away from you, you feel pretty empty.” (LINK)—12/16/2017
Get a Gynecologist to Do Your Facelift: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Do you want your gynecologist to give you a facelift?
If you’re not paying attention, that just may be what happens.
Plastic surgeons, generally, are not subject to the same strict laws that most doctors must follow. They can operate in their offices, and no one usually comes around to follow up and check on cleanliness, staff competency or other criteria which most patients assume is being managed by some regulatory agency.
Thousands of individuals— many recent immigrants and unfamiliar with the country’s health care system — volunteer to undergo medical examinations and procedures. Traveling to surgery centers like Southern California and New York State, they receive free, or reduced, surgery. Others get cash.
The victims, some who traveled from as far as Tennessee, were the unwitting key to a popular scam.
Federal, state and insurance company inspectors have untangled what is being described as one of the “most outrageous” cases of physicians mismanaging the confidence placed in them. The sort of fraud — which lives in a web of surgeons, plastic surgery center owners and victim recruiters, known as “cappers,” is difficult to find and stop. A recent California case is just the start.
California Dreamin’
In the summer of 2015, federal and state prosecutors charged several plastic surgery center owners with fraud. Now, Blue Cross and Blue Shield groups are following their lead and filing suit.
In the view of investigators, it isn’t just the physicians pulling a scam. There are many people who are engaged in doing the wrong thing. No one has a reason to become a whistle blower.
The attempt to recognize plastic surgery centers involved in fraudulent billing had its genesis in a regular conference of health insurers in January 2003, in Tampa, Florida. The officials convene three times a year to connect notes and look at unusual activity. The 2003 session was unusual because insurer after insurer had seen the same thing: victims were traveling hundreds and thousands of miles to experience routine plastic surgery procedures.
At most major insurers, advanced software examines claims for strange patterns. When a suspicious pattern is identified, inspectors step in. No one is quite certain why the early movement was concentrated in Southern California, but various individuals in the probe said one motive may have been that California, like other states, has a “quick pay” law which mandates that insurers handle applications in as little as 30 days. Plastic surgery centers could secure payment before adjusters were able to completely analyze a claim’s validity.
While it is hard to understand what occurs inside the clinics, some previous victims have talked. Julio Hernandez and his spouse, Sandra, of Phoenix, is one couple who have spoken out.
When Mr. Hernandez, employed by a garbage disposal company, found that he and his wife could make a few hundred dollars and get a free medical checkup, they thought they had found a good deal. All that was required was to visit the Unity plastic surgery center in Anaheim, California and they would receive $400 — or more — for each procedure.
“I could get the money I needed,” said Ms. Hernandez, who brings home $7 an hour as a textile worker. She traveled to the center in Anaheim in the summer of 2012. They recognized that something was amiss when they got checks from insurers for tens of thousands of dollars. An attorney for the center phoned to insist the money be returned and frightened them with a civil prosecution and jail time.
Health care fraud is constantly morphing, says Bruce Chambers, director of Cigna’s special investigations unit.
“What they were doing was cosmetic surgery, and they were billing it to insurers as other medical procedures,” said Chambers. “The patients would go in for a tummy tuck and would get a bill for hernia surgery.”
A group of women from Texas has filed a civil lawsuit against the center where they underwent plastic surgery. The ladies took a couple of smart steps when they realized they had been part of a scam: They retained an attorney and deposited the money received from insurers into a court account.
The women are not alone in suing the clinic. In a lawsuit last year, Aetna accused the center of performing unneeded procedures. Aetna’s suit contends that the center is “in whole or in part, a sham entity established to bill for services rendered by Unity.
The criminal cases in Southern California have helped reduce the number of fraudulent claims there, bu like whack-a-mole, fraudsters keeping popping up elsewhere.
New York’s Dangerous Cosmetic Surgery
One tangle in the spaghetti bowl of tangled New York laws allows any doctor to provide cosmetic services — there doesn’t even need to be an anesthesiologist or nurse in the room.
A few women who wanted to get firmer and increase the curves went to Dr. Ayman Shahine to get some fat sucked out and shifted around and bigger boobs.
What they hadn’t counted on - and here’s where a little Google-time can help - was Shahine not being a plastic surgeon. Shahine is a gynecologist and has been named in numerous lawsuits.
Carolyn Robinson was one lady who was sold on Shahine when she learned the names of stars on which the gynecologist-turned-plastic surgeon had worked. Celebrrities such as Nya Lee of Love and Hip Hop notoriety as well as Mob Wives’ Renee Graziano.
Needless to say, Robinson did not get the VIP regimen.
Instead of being catered to, she was stuck in a small wiating room with other patients while Shahine worked 24/7. The physician would keep the people waiting bby sedating them with tablets which were handed out by untrained staff. Robinson discovered, too late, that she would be operated on without an anesthesiologist and the only pain medicine would be Ibuprofen and a local application of skin-numbing ointment.
Shocked, Robinson demanded her money back. Shahine’s response? He gave her another dosage of pills and in a few minutes, Robinson began to feel weak and sleepy.
Shahine boasts about his work on YouTube. He shows off the shape of a Brazilian butt lift and the breast implant surgeries he has performed — all with just local anesthesia.
Robinson points to her drooping breasts and tummy bulges — just two of eight areas which Shahine worked on in one 24-hour period and charged her over $14,000 in cash.
According to the New York State Health Department, Shahine has never had his operating room inspected, and his clinic has never been accredited as safe or sanitary.
All of the women involved now wish they had demanded more answers and examined Shahine before handing him the money. All have registered grievances with the authorities.
Ask Questions
Before giving any surgeon money, ask some questions:
Are you a board certified plastic surgeon?
How long have you been certified?
Is your OR certified? By who?
Do you hold any clinical privileges for this surgery?
To file a complaint, contact:
NY State Attorney General at 800-428-9071 NYC Department of Health at 866-692-3641, and Manhattan District Attorney Complaint Line at 212-335-8900
Plastic Surgery Addict has “Rotting Nose”
A final word of warning. While some, about 5%, cosmetic surgery is justified because of disfiguring accidents, most is vanity.
A Brazilian steward, Rodrigo Alves, devoted his existence into morphing into a real-life Ken doll by plastic surgery. Recently, he was placed in a hospital after his latest nose began to decay on his face.
The 30-something, who is afflicted with body dysmorphic disorder, has handed over $400,000 on operations and is still “deeply unhappy” with his appearance. His unhappiness won’t go away soon.
Alves has been found to have necrosis after noticing a small opening developing on his nostrils. Now, physicians think Rodrigo’s face is in jeopardy of turning gangrenous if the affliction is permitted to spread.
Plastic surgery is one of the most trivial things in which people waste money. Unless you have a surgical need for reconstruction, there’s really no reason to undergo this huge risk. (LINK)—5/09/2016
Lipo Doctor Says Nightly News Defamed Him
MANHATTAN (CN) – Suing for $100 million in damages, a New York plastic surgeon says the reporters ruined his practice by telling viewers that he kept patients drugged for days at a time in his waiting room.
WPIX 11 ran the segment “Inside New York’s Dangerous Cosmetic Surgery Loophole” on July 29, 2014, but Dr. Ayman Shahine says it has reaired numerous times since then and remains available online.
“The segment was intended to make plaintiff a scapegoat for the shadowy cosmetic surgery practices in and around the city of New York,” according to the complaint, filed March 9 in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Shahine, of Brooklyn, notes that he began his career in obstetrics and gynecology but has been practicing liposuctions and other cosmetic surgeries for the past 15 years out of his office on West 34th Street in Manhattan.
WPIX told its viewers that Shahine was exploiting a legal loophole that lets any MD perform any surgery, in “uninspected and unsanitary” offices.
“He’s not a plastic surgeon,” “He’s actually an OB-GYN who’s been sued for malpractice multiple times and now runs a midtown plastic surgery mill that operates round the clock for cash.”
The segment emphasized that Shahine could lure patients toward risky cosmetic operations because his celebrity clientele included Nya Lee of VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop” and Renee Graziano from VH1’s “Mob Wives.”
Shahine calls out three “false and defamatory statements” made about him in the broadcast.
One, that “Dr. Shahine worked around the clock, keeping them (the patients) drugged with pills doled out by non-medical personnel.”
Two, that “a patient, Lavern Gordon, claimed there were 6 patients ahead of her, and they had been sleeping in the office for at least three to four days.”
And three, that “Dr. Shahine performed these surgeries in uninspected and unaccredited and unsanitary office-based surgery suites in his office.”
“By its actions, WPIX intentionally or recklessly caused emotional distress and financial ruin,” Shahine says.
Accusing WPIX of violating professional standards of journalism, Shahine says the reporters consciously chose not to contact prior patients of his who could have debunked the segment’s claims.
Shahine also says he was not contacted by WPIX for comment prior to the broadcast.
Now other doctors and cosmetic surgeons are using the WPIX segment, according to the complaint, to bolster their own credibility and steer business their way, away from Shahine.
Shahine contends that the surgical procedures he performed were “medically sound.” He says he “has developed innovative techniques of liposuction, liposculpture, laser and smart lipo, fat harvesting and fat grafting in his cosmetic surgery practice.”
The 11-page complaint seeks $100 million in damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotion distress.
Shahine also wants a “take down” of the segment from the internet, as any online search of his name brings up the damaging article on Google.
WPIX reported that New York law allows cosmetic surgeries to be performed in uninspected operating rooms, provided that the doctors use only local anesthesia and “mild sedation.”
“Liposuction amounts must be kept below 500 ml, about 2 cups,” the report said.
Representatives from WPIX have not returned a request for comment Friday afternoon.
Shahine is represented by Pamela Roth. (LINK)—3/10/2017
The gynecologist turned celebrity plastic surgeon who pumped up the caboose of “Mob Wives” star Renee Graziano is a butt butcher, according to state authorities who accuse him of 29 instances of negligence, incompetence, fraud and other wrongdoing.
A state oversight board charged Dr. Ayman Shahine in his treatment of eight patients, including performing liposuction on a 34-year-old woman without first checking blood-test results that showed she was pregnant.
He took fat out of her abdomen, back and inner thighs and transferred some to the woman’s rear end, but “falsely documented” the amount of fat he removed, the state alleged. State laws limits how much fat can be extracted during liposuctions outside of a hospital.
Another case involved a 65-year-old woman who had “extensive surgery” to replace her breast implants, a procedure Shahine performed in his midtown office without monitoring the women’s vital signs or documenting blood loss, according to state documents.
Shahine is also accused of doing “unncecessary and invasive” tests on three women at his Brooklyn OB-GYN practice.
None of the patients are identified, and the outcome of their cases are not disclosed in the statement of charges publicly issued this month by the state Board for Professional Medical Conduct. The board will now hold a hearing, and if the charges are substantiated, Shahine’s license could be suspended or revoked.
Shahine, 54, started as an OB-GYN in Brooklyn and later opened the NY Beauty Surgeon office on West 34th Street. New York law allows any MD to do cosmetic surgery.
Shahine reshaped Graziano’s behind by sucking out fat from other parts of her body and putting it in her butt, all without anesthesia, according to a video clip posted online.
“A little discomfort but nothing to write home about. It’s good,” Graziano is seen telling Shahine during the procedure.
“I wanted more ass so I went to Dr. Shahine,” she said during a 2014 interview.
Shahine also worked on singer Tameka “Tiny” Harris and Nya Lee of VH1’s “ Love & Hip Hop: New York,” according to his web site.
Fifteen women have sued Shahine for malpractice since 2013.
Manhattan resident Lisa Pressman alleges the she landed in intensive care after developing an infection from her July 2014 Brazilian butt lift, according to a 2015 malpractice complaint against Shahine which was later settled.
Pressman alleges Shahine did not put on gloves, a mask or a gown during the procedure and used his cell phone during the surgery.
Pressman was in septic shock with a bacterial infection, pain and respiratory failure when she was admitted to the hospital, court papers charge. She spent five weeks there.
Shahine’s lawyer, Douglas Nadjari, said he was not familiar with Pressman’s case and that she was not part of the charges before the state.
“He’s a good doctor. He’s an excellent surgeon. He has a fabulous font of medicine and we’re confident that he’ll be exonerated,” said Nadjari. (LINK)—10-14-2017
Some Patients of Cosmetic Surgeon Praised by Reality TV Stars Say He Disfigured Them
Reality TV stars like Mob Wives’ Renee Graziano and Love & Hip Hop’s Kimbella may swear by Dr. Ayman Shahine, but not everyone is a fan of the gynecologist turned cosmetic surgeon.
Connie Zuniga, 29, wanted to get her bikini figure back, but claims the Brazilian butt lift performed by Dr. Shahine left her disfigured.
“I looked in the mirror and hated what I saw,“ she told Inside Edition. "I am just ugly now. I couldn’t believe what I looked like.”
She isn’t the only one with regrets, as Inside Edition has found 10 patients currently suing Dr. Shahine for malpractice.
One woman, who asked to appear in disguise, says she was horrified by the way her stomach looked after her liposuction. When she complained, she says the doctor agreed to fix it and told her to come in at 3 a.m.
Five hours later, she says she recorded a video that she claims shows Dr. Shahine nodding off just before the procedure was going to begin. At that point, the patient says she left.
Her attorney, Marion Conde, spoke to Inside Edition’s Chief Investigative Correspondent Lisa Guerrero.
“I was outraged,” Conde said after viewing the video. “I believe this was gross negligence, gross incompetence, and one day he’s going to hurt someone.”
Inside Edition asked Dr. Adam Rubinstein, a board certified plastic surgeon and member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, to examine Zuniga. He says her procedure was botched.
“Without a doubt — there is no doubt in my mind — I would call that a botched procedure,” Rubinstein said.
Guerrero posed as a patient interested in liposuction and brought along Dr. Rubinstein as her husband.
Dr. Shahine wasn’t present for the appointment. Instead, Guerrero was evaluated by a woman named Aura.
She suggested not only liposuction, but also a Brazilian butt lift and breast surgery.
When Guerrero asked whether Aura was a doctor, she said no, but said she was “a nurse.”
Dr. Rubinstein said he was surprised the doctor wasn’t there for the evaluation.
“We would have never seen the doctor until that moment before surgery and to me, that’s just insanity,“ Rubinstein said. "That is not the way it should be done.”
Dr. Shahine did not return Inside Edition’s calls, so Guerrero met him as he showed up to his office at 7 p.m.
“Some people think your license should be suspended — what’s your comment about that?” she asked. He did not respond.
Two days later, he agreed to sit down with Guerrero and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
“Patients say you have botched their surgeries and left them disfigured,” Guerrero told the doctor.
“Look, 99.99 percent of my patients are very, very happy and we have amazing results,” he said.
Guerrero showed the doctor a photo of Zuniga.
“I know this particular patient,” he said. “This lady had surgery by me and I told her, ‘Do not sit on your butt until you are fully healed.’”
“Bottom line is that you are saying it’s her fault?“ Guerrero pressed. "You’re saying these patients aren’t abiding on what you are telling them to do?”
“Many of them,” he replied.
Guerrero then asked him about Aura, the woman who evaluated her, and asked if she was, in fact, a nurse.
“No, she is not a nurse,“ he said. "She is an educational consultant.”
“Aura said she was a nurse,” Guerrero said.
“No, you are lying,” he told her. “In fact, there is nothing in her desk or her clothing that tells [you] she is a nurse.”
“Well, her mouth told me she was a nurse,” Guerrero fired back.
He said he would check after the interview, and later said that she misspoke.
As for the video that appears to show the doctor nodding off, he says it was filmed by a disgruntled former employee trying to discredit him.
“This video of me shot by one of my staff who was fired, trying to make look bad,“ he claimed. “Where am I performing surgery here? I’m sitting at my desk, putting my hand on my head, like I have a headache. This is not falling asleep. You don’t fall asleep like this.”
Zuniga wishes she had never stepped in Dr. Shahine’s office.
“I just didn’t want to be on Earth anymore,” she said.
The New York State Department of Health is investigating Dr. Shahine for negligence, incompetence and fraud, allegations he denies. (LINK)—2/21/2018
NEW YORK MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— 220072 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS— License suspended in Pennsylvania; License inactive in New Jersey; License current in New York as of 2/21/2018
17 women accuse former N.J. doctor of sexual misconduct, authorities say
A prominent neurologist, already charged with groping patients at a Philadelphia clinic, is facing a growing number of accusations that he preyed on especially vulnerable pain patients at medical facilities in three states, using his impressive reputation as a healer to trap women in long-term doctor-patient relationships marked by abuse.
At least 17 women in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey have stepped forward to accuse Dr. Ricardo Cruciani of sexual misconduct that goes back at least a dozen years, either reporting him to police or retaining an attorney to pursue civil claims, according to an Associated Press review of documents and interviews with the lawyer and three of the accusers.
Women who say they were sexually abused by Cruciani tell the AP they felt they had no alternative but to continue seeing the Ivy League-trained neurologist, who specializes in rare, complicated syndromes that produce debilitating pain. Trapped in bodies that didn’t work, the women said, they viewed Cruciani as their only hope of getting better – and he knew it, taking advantage of their desperation.
Now, as police and prosecutors open a second investigation into Cruciani, some of the accusers and their lawyer want to know how closely the 63-year-old pain doctor was supervised and whether he could have been stopped sooner.
“These hospitals created this perfect storm of opportunity for him to victimize so many patients,” said Hillary Tullin, who saw Cruciani for years and said she was victimized repeatedly. “The system failed.”
A Philadelphia police affidavit said Cruciani, the former chairman of the neurology department at Philadelphia’s Drexel University, assaulted seven patients in 2016. The women, ages 31 to 55, described unwanted touching and kissing. One patient said Cruciani tried to force her to touch his genitals and then masturbated in front of her.
Drexel fired him in March after an internal investigation. Cruciani is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing on misdemeanor charges that include indecent assault.
“Given that these are ongoing matters, we cannot comment because it could prejudice the proceedings,” said his lawyer, Linda Dale Hoffa. “We will do our talking in court.”
Cruciani’s legal troubles might just be starting.
A 55-year-old former patient who says Cruciani sexually abused her for years told the AP that police interviewed her in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, where the doctor worked for Capital Health Medical Center from 2014 to 2016. Hopewell police and the Mercer County prosecutor’s office confirmed Cruciani is under investigation there but declined to offer details.
Dennis Dooley, vice president at Capital Health, said Capital received no complaints of sexual misconduct by Cruciani while he worked there.
Patients in excruciating pain often found their way to the neurologist, who boasted an impressive resume: fellow at the National Institutes of Health, doctorate degree in pharmacology, respected academic and researcher published more than 150 times and featured at more than 130 medical conferences.
The pain specialist accepted patients with hard-to-treat disorders when other doctors would not. Patients said he continually researched new, innovative treatments and therapies for them.
Tullin, a former network news producer for ABC and CBS, began seeing Cruciani in 2002 at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan. For two years, she had suffered chronic pain that made it feel like her body was on fire.
Cruciani diagnosed complex regional pain syndrome, a progressive disorder believed to originate in the nervous system, and came up with a strategy to relieve her symptoms. She saw him regularly for three years without incident.
Then, at an appointment in 2005, the neurologist grabbed her face and jammed his tongue down her throat, said Tullin, who recalled uttering an expletive and fleeing.
She avoided going back for a couple weeks. Eventually, though, she returned, feeling she had no choice because Cruciani was one of the very few doctors who could treat her.
“You have nowhere else to go, and you know that and he knows that,” said Tullin, 45.
At her next appointment, Tullin said, Cruciani apologized. But she recalled at least a dozen later instances of escalating abuse while she was his patient at Beth Israel, Capital and Drexel. Tullin said that Cruciani touched her breasts and genitals, and that she performed oral sex on him at his request and he performed it on her.
“There was nothing consensual about it,” Tullin said. “When you’re being held in a locked office with someone for three hours, and you know that that person holds your health in his hands, you make a decision. And my decision was that I wanted to be able to walk again, I wanted to be able to use my arms and legs.”
The AP does not typically identify people who say they are sexual assault victims unless they grant permission. Tullin has never told her story publicly but said she felt compelled to do so after Cruciani was charged in Philadelphia. She said she reported Cruciani to New York City police on Friday, and earlier to Philadelphia and Hopewell police.
The 55-year-old woman making accusations against Cruciani told the AP that she, too, was subjected to sexual predations during long appointments. She said he put his fingers in her vagina and asked her for oral sex, which she said she felt obliged to provide.
In an effort to protect herself, the woman said, she brought a friend to an appointment. She said Cruciani retaliated at subsequent visits by sending an assistant in his place and withholding refills on opioids until she was near withdrawal.
“I felt so trapped,” said the woman, who lives in Dutchess County, New York, and was Cruciani’s patient at Beth Israel, Capital and Drexel. “This was a man who really knew about a rare condition that I had. I couldn’t find anyone else with his level of knowledge or understanding, and he had my health and my medications over my head. I did what I did to survive.”
A third accuser, a 40-year-old New York City woman with chronic pancreatitis, told the AP that Cruciani subjected her to unwanted touching over her clothes and kissed her on the mouth at one of their first consultations at Beth Israel. She said that she told her primary doctor and that the doctor replied, ‘Well, you know, I’ve heard that he can be a little handsy. Just watch yourself.’“
On at least 10 occasions over the next several years, the woman said, Cruciani stuck his tongue in her mouth, rubbed her breasts and genitals over her clothes, and one time tried to put her hand on his crotch. Like the other women, she said she felt she had no choice but to continue seeing him.
The accusers’ lawyer, Jeff Fritz, is preparing to sue Cruciani, as well as his former employers, Beth Israel – which merged with Mount Sinai Medical Center in 2013 – Capital and Drexel. Fritz represents a dozen accusers, including three of the women Cruciani is charged with assaulting in Philadelphia.
Mount Sinai had no comment on the allegations against Cruciani, who left Beth Israel before the merger.
Authorities in New York were aware of an allegation against Cruciani at least as far back as 2013, when a 37-year-old woman told police he tried to kiss and grope her and get her to touch his genitals, according to a police report obtained by the AP.
New York City police closed the case without charging Cruciani. The report did not say why. (LINK)—11/19/2017
Wealthy Sex Offender Doctor Gets Zero Jail Time in Patient Groping Case
Over the last couple of months, we’ve read endless headline news accounts of how wealthy, prominent men have used their power and position to sexually assault, sexually harass, intimidate, and otherwise mistreat women. And a lot of us are wondering: What will happen to these men? Will any of them go to jail? Well, if one prominent Philadelphia doctor is a barometer for how the criminal justice system deals with rich, powerful men who do bad things to women, these guys will never see the inside of a prison cell.
Ricardo Cruciani isn’t just any Philadelphia doctor. Until he was fired earlier this year, the 63-year-old physician was the chairman of the Department of Neurology, a professor of neurology, and the director of the Center for Pain Palliative Medicine at Drexel University. In his patient practice, he was often the last-ditch hope for people suffering from terrible brain disorders, and this week, he has admitted taking advantage of some of those patients. All women.
Prosecutors accused Cruciani of doing all sorts of things. They said he fondled and groped women under his care. They said he tried to forcibly kiss a woman in his office. They said that he tried to force a woman to touch his penis. And they said that he even pleasured himself in front of a patient. A great guy all around.
Cruciani was arrested in September. On Tuesday, he appeared in court, as did three of his victims.
“What you did was take a part of my soul, and you took it to a dark spot,” one woman said in court, according to the Inquirer. “I no longer trust anyone.”
“You’ve sentenced your victims to a life of pain,” the judge told Cruciani.
So how much jail time does a despicable man like this get? Exactly zero.
During Tuesday’s court proceedings, Cruciani pleaded guilty to seven counts against him, including indecent assault, in a plea deal negotiated by Cruciani’s high-priced Dilworth Paxson attorney. In exchange for his plea, he was sentenced to seven years of probation, and he has to register as a Tier I sex offender, which is the least serious of the three sex offender tiers.
That was on Tuesday.
And what is Cruciani doing on Wednesday? He’s flying to Buenos Aires for his daughter’s wedding, of course. (LINK)—11/22/2017
Neurologist arrested for allegedly raping New York City patient
A neurologist who had pleaded guilty to groping women at a Philadelphia clinic was arrested on Tuesday on charges he repeatedly raped a patient in New York City.
Dr. Ricardo Cruciani was taken into custody and will be arraigned in New York on multiple counts of rape and other sex crimes, police said.
The former patient, Hillary Tullin, 45, called a sexual abuse hotline last year and reported that Cruciani had abused her between 2005 and 2012, authorities said.
Tullin told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she testified before a grand jury about two weeks ago.
"I don’t know that he’s going to go gently into the good night, but I’m very hopeful,” she said. “He needs to be locked up.”
The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Tullin has done. She told her story publicly to the AP last year.
Cruciani’s lawyer, Mark Furman, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
The AP reported in November that at least 17 women in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey had stepped forward to accuse Cruciani of sexual misconduct in encounters dating back at least a dozen years.
Women who said they were sexually abused by Cruciani told the AP that they felt they had no alternative but to continue seeing the Ivy League-trained neurologist, who specialized in rare, complicated syndromes that produce debilitating pain.
Tullin said she too felt she had no choice but to continue seeing Cruciani because he was one of the very few doctors who could treat her condition.
On Tuesday, she praised New York City police and prosecutors for taking her case seriously.
“This is for all the women he tortured and abused and mistreated,” she said.
Two law enforcement officials confirmed Tullin is the woman whom Cruciani is charged with raping. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to provide the names of people who say they have been sexually assaulted.
Cruciani pleaded guilty to assaulting seven patients in 2016 while he was chairman of Drexel University’s neurology department. Under a plea agreement, he was sentenced to seven years’ probation. He also had to register as a sex offender and forfeit his medical license.
“I’m truly sorry if I caused any harm or any pain,” he said at his sentencing hearing. (LINK)—2/21/2018
AG accuses surgeon of prescribing pain pills to mistress, who is ex-wife of Sandusky attorney
The state attorney general on Friday announced felony charges against an orthopedic surgeon who allegedly wrote dozens of prescriptions for opioid pain pills to his paramour.
Kenneth L. Cherry, 58, of State College, surrendered to authorities Friday to face six felony charges of prescribing a controlled substance not in good faith and six misdemeanor charges related to not keeping records of the distribution of controlled substances.
Prosecutors allege Cherry wrote a total of 63 prescriptions to Mary Amendola over a period of 19 months when he was having an affair with her. She was not his patient.
Amendola, 37, is the ex-wife of Joe Amendola, who represented former Penn State Assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky in his child molestation trial. The marriage made headlines during trial proceedings after it was revealed that Joe Amendola had a baby with Mary, a former client of his, when she was 17 years old and he was 49. He filed for divorce in 2010.
It’s unclear how Amendola met Cherry, but she had previously been a patient of the University Orthopedics Center that Cherry helped co-found in 1991. Cherry is married and has two children.
According to court records, Cherry said he knew Amendola and was helping her out with unrecorded prescriptions because she didn’t have insurance.
Upon further questioning by authorities, Cherry admitted he “had a sexual relationship with Mary Amendola,” according to the affidavit. She was experiencing back pain and Cherry’s practice focused on knee and hip problems.
Cherry said he had tried to get her in to see pain management doctors, but they would not write prescriptions for pain medications. So, he said, Amendola kept asking him for prescriptions.
From November 2014 to May 2016, prosecutors said, Cherry wrote 42 prescriptions for Oxycodone, 10 for Percocet, one for Fentanyl, six for Adderall, three for Xanax and one for Ativan.
Cherry allegedly would leave prescriptions for her in his car or meet in person.
Amendola told authorities Cherry would “get test results, write prescriptions and do other things for her.” She said “she would ask Dr. Cherry for whatever she wanted and he would write the prescriptions,” according to the affidavit.
Amendola said she was addicted to narcotics because of the length of time she had been on pain medication. She said she had insurance and used it to buy the prescriptions.
The other doctors at the University Orthopedics Center did not know Cherry was writing prescriptions for her, Amendola said, according to the affidavit. She said she asked Cherry for Adderall after a friend recommended it to help with the sluggishness from the pain medication.
Cherry told authorities he recognized that “things were getting out of control,” in September 2015 and he told Amendola he was uncomfortable prescribing Adderall because it was outside his scope of practice.
Cherry said he knew Amendola was asking for too much medication but he did not want to “abandon” her, according to the affidavit. Cherry considered Amendola to be “narcotics tolerant.”
The alleged scheme was foiled after alert CVS pharmacy workers reported that Amendola filled a prescription for Oxycodone 10 mg pills on May 11, 2016 written by Cherry, then returned six days later to fill prescriptions for 20 mg pills and 30 mg pills, both prescribed by Cherry.
Cherry’s arrest represents the 96th this year by the attorney general’s office for allegedly illegally diverting prescription drugs.
“The illegal diversion of prescription drugs is a serious, growing problem in our Commonwealth,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
Studies show that 75 percent of heroin users began their drug abuse by abusing prescription opioids. Oxycodone and Percocet are opioid pain medications. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid.
Cherry appeared Friday before Centre County District Judge Thomas N. Jordan in Centre Hall. Bail was set at $20,000 unsecured. A preliminary hearing was set for July 19.
No charges were filed against Amendola. (LINK)—6/24/2017
State College doctor’s license suspended for more than 2 years
A State College doctor who faced felony charges will not be allowed to practice for at least 30 months.
On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of State announced a list of license suspensions for various agencies and professions. Among those was Kenneth L. Cherry Jr., 58.
According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, agents were advised by a CVS Pharmacy in State College that large amounts of controlled substances were prescribed to a woman by Cherry. The doctor had allegedly illegally allowed the woman to fill a prescription totaling 60 mg of oxycodone in May 2016. More than 60 allegedly illegal prescriptions dating back to 2014 for the woman included Percocet, fentanyl, Adderall, Xanax and Ativan.
The last documented prescription for the woman was February 2014 by a different doctor in the practice.
The suspension is retroactive to July 10, and he could be allowed to practice again in January 2020. Legal proceedings could cause a longer suspension.
Cherry is an orthopedic surgeon in State College and has worked at University Orthopedics Center.
Agents met with the woman who allegedly told authorities she had a relationship with Cherry. She said other doctors wouldn’t prescribe pain medications for her, but he would write prescriptions for her without her having to go to the practice.
Cherry faced six felony charges of administering controlled substances out of the scope of a patient relationship and six misdemeanor charges of failure to keep records of a distributed controlled substance.
Six felony charges and three of the misdemeanor charges were withdrawn, and Cherry agreed to plead guilty to three misdemeanor charges, according to the AG’s office.
“I want to commend the CVS pharmacy in State College for coming forward with information about this case,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a July news release. “Everyone can and should play a role in helping us end the illegal practice of diverting prescription drugs from their intended use.” (LINK)—10/12/2017
OHIO MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— 35.092679 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS— no actions listed as of 2/20/2018
Valley surgeon indicted in fatal Berlin Lake boating accident
BERLIN CENTER, Ohio (WKBN) – A Mahoning County grand jury indicted a prominent local surgeon Thursday in connection with a fatal boating crash in May.
The jury charged Joe Yurich with aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehiclular assault and two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
The crash happened early on the morning of May 9, when a boat collided with another boat on Berlin Lake, and a man from Akron died.
Officials with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources confirmed back in May that Yurich, a prominent local surgeon, was driving a boat the crashed into a fishing boat.
The crash killed Neal Cuppett, 58, and injured Bruce Lindamood, both of whom were in the fishing boat. ODNR officials also confirmed that alcohol was a factor, though they did not specify at the time who was under the influence. (LINK)—9/03/2015
Poland doctor begins serving sentence for fatal boating crash
The Poland doctor convicted of vehicular homicide in a 2015 fatal boating crash on the Berlin Reservoir has started serving a ten-day jail sentence.
Dr. Joseph Yurich was booked into the Mahoning County jail on Wednesday immediately after Judge John Durkin suspended all but ten days of a 12-month sentence on convictions of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.
He was also ordered to house arrest for 90 days with electronic monitoring, five years of probation, and to perform 200 hours of community service at the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, performing medical services for those that need it.
Yurich will also be ordered to take a mandatory course to maintain his boating license.
The prosecution requested the maximum sentence of 360 days in jail, $2,000 in fines, a five-year license suspension, and mandatory remedial boating courses.
However, the defense argued that the court was duty-bound, and directed by law, to consider Dr. Yurich’s military background and a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
During the sentencing, Judge Durkin said that state law dictates that the maximum sentence cannot be imposed when there is a military background, unless it is for the worst possible offense under the charge, or there is a long-standing history of criminal behavior.
But the judge later said that he was thoroughly convinced that it was the actions of Dr. Yurich that caused the death of another man.
Earlier this month, Judge Durkin said that he could not convict Yurich on several charges without reasonable doubt. The charges of aggravated vehicular homicide charge, as well as aggravated vehicular assault, and operating a vehicle while impaired was dismissed.
Yurich’s speed boat hit a fishing boat around midnight on May 9, 2015, on Berlin Lake.
The man in the fishing boat, Neal Cuppett of Akron, died. Another man in Cuppett’s boat was injured.
During the sentencing, Cuppett’s wife addressed the court, saying she felt as though Yurich’s rights were the only one taken into account.
“Joe Yurich will never match up to the man my husband was. He simply does not have the character,” she said.
Authorities believed Yurich was intoxicated at the time of the incident, but Judge John Durkin ruled the blood and urine samples taken from Yurich can’t be used because they were not refrigerated before being analyzed.
Defense attorneys argued Wednesday that during the trial an expert witness testified that if a blood sample is not refrigerated it will continue to ferment, making it an unreliable sample. They continued by saying that they had no knowledge of a urine sample, or where that may have gone.
Judge Durkin addresses concerns, saying he knew the samples were “the elephant in the room”. Durkin went on to say that it was clear that a Portage County detective did not follow the Ohio Administrative Code, and failed to refrigerate the samples.
Attorneys also argued for a lenient sentence by saying that following the charges against Yurich, the State Medical Licensing Board conducted an alcohol liability test, in order to make sure he was fit to maintain his medical license.
Yurich settled a wrongful death negligence suit filed by Cuppett’s estate.
In May, a second negligence suit was brought against Yurich by the man who was injured in the same incident.
Yurich is a general surgeon at The Surgical Hospital at Southwoods in Boardman. (LINK)—7/26/2017
Poland doctor temporarily loses license after vehicular homicide conviction
The Poland doctor convicted of leaving the scene of a 2015 fatal boating crash on Berlin Reservoir has had license suspended by the State Medical Board of Ohio for one year.
Dr. Joseph Yurich was previously sentenced to ten days in jail in July of 2017 after being convicted of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.
Yurich’s speedboat hit a fishing boat around midnight on May 9, 2015, on Berlin Lake. The man in the fishing boat, Neal Cuppett of Akron, died. Another man in Cuppett’s boat was injured.
As part of the sentence handed down by Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge John Durkin, Yurich was also placed on house arrest for 90 days with electronic monitoring, given five years of probation, and was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service at the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, performing medical services for those that need it.
Yurich was also ordered to take a mandatory course to maintain his boating license.
Authorities believed Yurich was intoxicated at the time of the incident, but Judge John Durkin ruled the blood and urine samples taken from Yurich couldn’t be used because they were not refrigerated before being analyzed.
Yurich settled a wrongful death negligence suit filed by Cuppett’s estate.
Yurich is a general surgeon at The Surgical Hospital at Southwoods in Boardman. (LINK)—12/14/2018
CHARLOTTE - A Charlotte mother is challenging North Carolina’s cap on medical malpractice lawsuits after her attorneys say a botched surgery left her without hands and feet.
In a lawsuit filed this week in Mecklenburg County Superior Court, lawyers for Adrienne Harris say the mother of three was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy in July 2015.
Her doctors recommended surgery to remove her fallopian tube.
Attorney Charles Monnett says Harris should only have needed an overnight stay at CMC-Main for the relatively routine surgery.
“During her surgery, there was an injury to her bowel that went undetected, undiagnosed, and unrepaired,” Monnett said.
The surgery left a hole in her small intestine allowed the contents to leak into her abdomen causing sepsis. The lawsuit alleges doctors didn’t catch the mistake for two days.
“It just snowballed. One mistake after the other,” Monnett said.
She eventually underwent another surgery to repair the hole which resulted in removal of portions of her small bowel and colon.
The lawsuit says Harris remained deathly ill in the ICU and required additional surgeries in the weeks and months to follow.
Organ damage and poor condition brought on by the sepsis caused gangrene to her hands and feet.
Eventually she required below the knee amputations of both legs and trans-radial amputations of both hands.
“No one can imagine what it would be like to suddenly wake up one day with no hands and no feet,” Monnett said.
Harris also won’t be able to properly digest food by mouth for the rest of her life.
Monnett argues that because her injuries are so severe, she should be allowed to claim non-economic damages above the $500,000 cap set in place by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2011.
The lawsuit makes a constitutional challenge to the cap calling it an “arbitrary and capricious deprivation of the constitutional rights of an injured individual to recover non-economic damages.”
House Speak Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger are named in the suit by statute. The state is now recognized as a defendant to argue in support of the cap on damages.
Monnett said he believes a jury that hears all the evidence should once again be allowed to decide a case and appropriate financial compensation.
“She’s lost her ability to live a normal life. She’s lost the ability to care for her children,” Monnett said. “Why should the politicians in Raleigh be allowed to tell her what that is worth.”
The negligence lawsuit names Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority - also known as Carolinas Healthcare or Atrium Health along with Dr. Lynn C. Pitson, Dr. Kathryn E. Webb and Dr. Tara M. Vick.
The suit says Webb was a resident at the time and performed the surgery under Pitson’s supervision. It suggests Webb’s inexperience was a factor.
“She would have had limited experience just by the fact that she was a resident,” Monnett said.
Carolinas HealthCare told Channel 9 they don’t comment on active litigation. Moore and Berger also declined to comment for this report. (LINK)—2/17/2018
WASHINGTON MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— PY00000605 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS— No actions listed as of 2/17/2018
Psychologist Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Patient
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gary Jenkins, Chief of Police
Pullman Police Department
(509) 334-0802
Psychologist Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Patient
PULLMAN – A Pullman therapist and psychologist was arrested Friday, February 16, on suspicion of sexually assaulting a female patient last month.
A female Pullman resident in her 40’s reported to Pullman Police that her therapist, psychologist Dean Funabiki, PhD, sexually assaulted her. The assault allegedly occurred during a therapy session in January 2018 in Dr. Funabiki’s office, 1205 SE Professional Mall Blvd. Swabs were collected from the victim during a sexual assault examination. A search warrant was obtained to collect DNA samples from Dr. Funabiki. The evidence was sent to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for analysis. The Crime Lab positively matched Funabiki’s DNA to victim swabs collected from private areas of the victim’s body consistent with the reported sexual assault.
At the request of investigators, and accompanied by his attorney, Dr. Funabiki surrendered himself at the Pullman Police Department at about 10:30 pm. He was arrested and booked on a charge of Rape in the 2nd Degree and will later be transported to the Whitman County Jail. Rape in the 2nd Degree includes rape when the perpetrator is a health care provider and the alleged victim is a client or patient, and the sexual intercourse occurs during a treatment session. Rape 2nd Degree is a Class A felony, punishable by life imprisonment and/or $50,000 fine. (LINK)—2/16/2018
Pullman psychologist arrested for rape charges
A Pullman therapist was booked on second degree rape charges after he surrendered himself to police late Friday night.
A patient reported that her therapist Dean Funabiki had sexually assaulted her last month during a therapy session in his office, according to a Pullman Police Department Press release. Police acquired a search warrant and collected DNA samples from Funabiki and the evidence was sent to the Washington State Patrol crime lab for analysis.
The Crime Lab positively matched DNA from the sexual assault examination kit the victim received when she reported the assault to evidence collected from Funabiki, according to the news release.
Rape in the second degree is a Class A felony and includes rape when the perpetrator is a health care provider and the victim is a patient and the assault occurred during treatment. It is punishable by life imprisonment and or a $50,000 fine. (LINK)—2/17/2018
Psychologist Accused Of Raping Patient Hangs Himself In Prison Cell
A 67-year-old man was found hanging in his cell in Whitman County Jail on Sunday night, correctional officers said. The man who was identified as Dean Funabiki was unresponsive when found, and was taken to Whitman Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Reports stated several officers and Emergency Medical personnel also attempted some lifesaving measures, but in vain.
Brett J. Myers from the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office shed some light on the case and said, “At this time, investigators from the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office will be working jointly with the Whitman County Coroner’s Office to determine cause and manner of death. This investigation is ongoing.“
Dr. Funabiki was first arrested Friday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a female client in January, KXLY, a news/talk radio outlet based in Spokane, Washington, reported. He reportedly lived in Pullman, the largest city in Whitman County.
He had turned himself in to the Pullman Police Department at 10:30 p.m. local time (1:30 a.m. EST) on Feb. 16. Dr. Funabiki was arrested and booked on a charge of second-degree rape and was immediately transported to the Whitman County Jail. Funabiki’s attorney was also present at the station at the time.
A person is charged with second-degree rape when the perpetrator is a health care provider and the alleged victim a client or patient, and the sexual intercourse occurs during a treatment session.
Dr. Funabiki’s case first came to light after a female resident in her 40s from Pullman told the police he sexually assaulted her during a therapy session in January. The alleged assault took place in Dr. Funabiki’s office at 1205 SE Professional Mall Boulevard.
After the woman, who remained unidentified, filed the complaint, police authorities collected DNA sample from the doctor and sent it for tests to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab along with swabs collected from the victim.
The test concluded Dr. Funabiki’s DNA samples matched the swabs collected from private areas of the victim’s body, which is consistent with sexual assault.
Dean Funabiki was found hanging in his Whitman County Jail cell in Washington. In this photo, a police officer stands near the entrance of the Farragut North metro station after a train derailed in Washington D.C., on Jan. 15, 2018. Photo: Getty Images / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds
In a fairly similar incident, an Iowa therapist was arrested in January after she was accused of exploiting a female patient by touching and kissing her in a hot tub in her home.
The suspect was identified as 45-year-old, Aracely Schutters, who also worked as a social worker at The Compass, a center for disabilities and development based in Iowa City.
Schutters was reportedly accused of inviting a female patient to her home in Bettendorf, a city in Scott County through text messages.
Reports stated the client, who had never met Schutters outside the clinic, went to her house and entered her hot tub to speak about issues she had been dealing with. However, things started to turn awry when Schutters tried to get the patient drunk by serving her several alcoholic beverages in addition to engaging in unwanted kissing and touching.
Schutters was charged with one count of sexual exploitation by a counselor/therapist, a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. (LINK)—2/20/2018
Medical board launches investigation into local doctor
YUCCA VALLEY — Dr. Prem Parkash Salhotra is facing accusations from the California Medical Board, which launched an investigation last year.
An accusation filed Dec. 14, 2017, lists four allegations against the doctor: repeated negligent acts, gross negligence, failure to maintain adequate and adequate medical records and unprofessional conduct.
They revolve around his treatment of two patients who were prescribed medicines for conditions ranging from chronic pain to schizophrenia.
If the charges are found to be true, the state could revoke Salhotra’s medical license, although sometimes a sentence may be suspended a doctor attends classes.
Salhotra’s case has been referred to the attorney general’s health quality enforcement team.
“It is with the attorney general now,” said Carlos Villatoro, a spokesman for the medical board, during a phone interview Friday, Jan. 5. “This accusation is essentially a charge.”
No hearing date has been set.
Lisa Willis, Salhotra’s office manager, said the doctor will not comment, on the advice of his attorney.
In November, the Morongo Basin Healthcare District honored Salhotra’s three-decade career and his dedication to the local medical community. The directors presented Salhotra with a proclamation of appreciation during their Nov. 2 meeting.
Then-board President Marge Doyle called Salhotra “one of the finest human beings I know.”
Current board President Bob Armstrong, who noted that Salhotra is his personal physician, lavished praise on his doctor.
“I have never known someone who is more compassionate,” Armstrong said. “I am proud to have him as my doctor.”
The accusations of the medical board refer to two anonymous patients, designated as A and B, and their experiences with Salhotra from 2012 to 2015.
Patient A had chronic neck and lower back pain, hypertension, migraines and osteoarthritis of the spine along with depression and opioid dependence.
The accusation states that Patient A was on high doses of morphine for several years, but Salhotra never ordered a urine drug screen or had the patient sign a pain management agreement.
Patient B was treated for including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, rapid heartbeat and chronic lower back pain, according to the accusation. The patient was taking opioids, benzodiazepines and sleep medication.
The medical board charges that Salhotra did not order a urine drug screen or document any discussion with Patient B about the risks of opioid drug therapy.
The medical board alleges that the doctor gave Patient B medicine to control hallucinations, psychoses and anxiety, but didn’t document whether he ever referred the patient to a psychiatrist.
Salhotra told an investigator that Patient B was periodically seen by his nurse practitioner, who specialized in psychiatry. “However, there appears to be no meaningful treatment or follow-up regarding this patient’s mental health care by respondent,” the accusation states.
The Morongo Basin Healthcare District, where Salhotra serves as medical director for clinics in Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley, released the following statement on Friday:
“Dr. Salhotra has informed us of the accusation by the Medical Board of California. This accusation does not involve, to our knowledge, the healthcare district or its health centers. We have not been contacted by the medical board regarding this matter.” (LINK)—1/11/2018
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