Medical Malpractice and Sexual Assault
At times, medical misconduct by medical doctors and chiropractors can violate both medical malpractice law and criminal law. As Orlando medical malpractice lawyers we have found that patients generally need to file a medical malpractice to obtain any meaningful form of justice.
This is especially true when there are incidents of sexual assault. Allegations against a chiropractor in one case, for example, included claims that he groped teenager patients. Most of the improper contact occurred while the chiropractor was providing treatment for a back injury.
Sadly when women pursue these cases, they are often met with suspicion. Yet, the simple facts involved with an appropriate medical or chiropractic exam, should not include the type of touching involved. Female patients with back complaints, for instance, should not be required to have a frontal examination during the procedure. As a general rule, state investigators have stated that there is never a time that a chiropractor should have their hands on a female patient's breasts.
For many patients state action is delayed or inadequate. Despite alarming allegations, investigations may take years. Some complaints of sexual assaults have lingered for more than five years. Indeed, in a report of an out-of-state case of sexual assault the state board apologized for taking more than eight years to investigate the case without any findings against the doctor involved.
