Two Chicago hospitals have been accused of “knowingly providing a platform” for a doctor to sexually abuse more than 300 female patients, choosing to ignore complaints against him for years, according to a lawsuit.
“Women reported. They reported again and again. They were asked to question their experiences even as women. They were told that the abuse they complained of was medically necessary and normal,” lamented the lawyer in the case, Symone Shinton, at a press conference on Tuesday, according to NBC News.
According to the suit, filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, Fabio Ortega, 77, allegedly abused more than 300 Spanish-speaking female patients, with some testimony dating as far back as 1989.
The septuagenarian, to whom the Spanish-speaking patients had been referred because of his mastery of Spanish, allegedly took advantage of the fact that they spoke very little or no English to perform “unnecessary pelvic examinations” or ask them questions “ intrusive” about their sexuality, according to the suit.
In one of the cases, he allegedly compared the size of his fingers to that of the genitals of the husband of one of the patients during an examination.
The doctor finally pleaded guilty in 2021 to sexual abuse of two patients, receiving a three-year prison sentence which he would have already completed.
But where the problem lies is that staff members at NorthShore Medical Group and Swedish Covenant Hospital, both now managed by Endeavor Health, allegedly concealed complaints filed against the doctor for years, offering free rein to continue its abuses.
“(They) knowingly offered him a platform to sexually abuse” hundreds of other patients, the court document continued, according to the American media.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of only one of more than 300 victims who approached the law firm following an announcement, but more lawsuits are expected to follow soon, Parker Stinar noted. another lawyer for the plaintiffs.
He clarified that collective action was not envisaged despite the large number, since individual damages were at the same level from one case to another.
“Unfortunately, what is commonly seen is that minority patients are silenced by health care providers when they raise concerns or file complaints,” the attorney added. .
