We recently represented a physician who had been reported to OPMC for having sexually abused two teenage patients. One claim was from ten years ago and the other was from twenty years ago. These types of issues are, of course, extremely dangerous as anyone can make a claim like this, and if the testimony is believable, the consequences to the physician can be the revocation of their medical license.
In our case, there were no records that could be found for the claim of twenty years ago, but the physician did have records for the patient who said the abuse occurred ten years ago. The record of the office visit in question was unrevealing, simply the recording of a history, physical examination, and diagnosis of a thirteen-year-old girl. Accordingly, what we had on the surface was just one story by the patient and another by the physician, but we looked further to see if there were any other pieces of evidence that might bear on this claim, and to that end, we asked the physician if the patient had any siblings and, if so, did those siblings happen to be in the office on the same day in question? Fortunately, the girl in question had three other siblings who were all seen on that day, and one was an infant under the age of one year, meaning that the mother of these children was no doubt present for these examinations.
At the OPMC Interview, we produced the office records for that girl and her siblings, all on the date the abuse supposedly took place. That evidence was convincing to OPMC and we soon received a letter from OPMC closing the file without any action being taken. This closing of the file was, obviously, a massive relief to our client.
So, the lesson to be learned from this matter is that you have to think of any possible way to produce documentary evidence that can help convince OPMC that the claim does not have any merit. Here, the additional office records for examinations, with the mother being present, done on the same day that the abuse was alleged to have happened, were sufficient to put an end to the investigation. You have to search all avenues of investigation to put together a coherent and compelling defense.
