[column width=”1/1″ last=”true” title=”Physicians and Sexual Assault Accusations” title_type=”single” animation=”none” implicit=”true”]
A trusted medical professional is a very valuable asset. They can help you throughout your lifetime to live a long and healthy life. What do you do when that doctor you trust becomes one of the abusive doctors that you occasionally hear about? You may want to brush it off at first or convince yourself that the assault didn’t happen. However, your patient-doctor relationship should never become dangerous or uncomfortable. It’s important that you come forward to prevent this from happening to other patients. You can also ensure that the physician that you dealt with pays the price for what they have done.
Sexual Assault by Physician
Unfortunately, sexual assault by physician professionals has become more and more common in recent years. When we have a medical issue, it is a doctor that we hope will help us. It’s not typically on our radar that we should be looking out for potentially abusive doctors. Having someone violate your trust in that way can change your life forever. This is a space where we often share some of our very personal information. We shouldn’t expect that abusive doctors would abuse this trust and power that they have by way of abuse and invasive exams that are completely unnecessary.
Physician Sexual Assault Cases
The abusive doctors that are being accused of sexual assault attempt to deny the claims against them. However, there are attorneys that believe in uncovering the truth in the court of law. Medical licensing can be taken away, the story becoming public can cause a doctor to be dropped from a practice and patients will leave the care of the accused medical professional once word gets around. There is often a grooming period that abusive doctors will utilize to take the abuse further and further on each appointment.
The abuse may start out very subtle, and almost unnoticeable to the patient.
Over time, the assault becomes more invasive and severe. Some doctors will try to persuade a patient into a sexual relationship outside of the office. Not all of the abuse is physical. Sexual comments made to the patient can be considered sexual assault. The same is true for a doctor who exposes themselves to the patient without consent. There have even been legal cases of a patient being put under anesthesia, and they were sexually assaulted while asleep.
The Balance of Power Regarding Physician Sexual Assault
There is a distinct difference in power between abusive doctors and their patients. These assault cases are very real and prevalent in the U.S. today, but many people immediately assume the patient is lying because of the clout that a doctor has in society. Because of how inappropriate this type of patient/doctor relationship is, many states will even reprimand a medical professional if they received consent from the patient. This is medical malpractice, regardless of the scenario. There are a number of things to watch out for if you are a patient in a medical setting or are someone that is working in a medical facility where assault from abusive doctors of this nature could occur. This includes things like:
- A doctor watching the patient get undressed or dressed.
- A patient being touched without the doctor wearing gloves.
- Inappropriate comments that are sexual in nature.
- Discussing inappropriate matters that are outside the scope of the appointment.
- The medical professional speaking about their own sexual experience or problems.
- Touching areas of the body that are not relevant to the appointment.
- Asking about sexual history when it is not necessary.
Patient Rights
It’s important that you know what your rights are when you are attending an appointment as a patient. Regardless of what the purpose of the appointment is, you can withdraw your consent at any point in time. If you don’t feel comfortable with the doctor that you are speaking with or something inappropriate seems to be taking place, you can leave at any point. Even if you have consented to some sort of sexual relationship, this is outside the boundaries of a physician’s ethical code of conduct. If you are in a hospital, it is actually the responsibility of the hospital to ensure that you are safe the entire time that you are there.
What Constitutes Physician Sexual Assault from Abusive Doctors
You may be wondering what kind of behavior actually violates a physician’s code of moral conduct. Obvious interactions like sexual intercourse are included under sexual assault, but another contact is also included. Genital to genital contact, kissing, the touching of genitals, or any other part of the body in a sexual way can be labeled as sexual assault. Also included is masturbation in the presence of a patient, encouraging the patient to masturbate and offering favors for sexual interaction.
If you know someone or you yourself have experienced sexual assault by abusive doctors in the medical field, there is help that’s available to you. There are attorneys that deal specifically with this kind of physician sexual assault. You shouldn’t have to deal with this trauma in silence. Contact LibertyBell Law if you would like to speak with one of our attorneys regarding your case. After you provide us with a little bit of information regarding your situation, we can let you know if you are eligible for a lawsuit. We’ll work with you every step of the way.
[/column]
[column width=”1/2″ last=”true” title=”” title_type=”single” animation=”none” implicit=”true”]
Call Now! (855) 529-7761[/column]
[blank h=”30″]
[/blank]
[column width=”1/1″ last=”true” title=”” title_type=”single” animation=”none” implicit=”true”]
[blockquote layout=”slider” cat=”” ids=”” autorotate=””]
[/blockquote]
[/column]