US: Over 200 Women Sue Doc For Sexual Abuse, Unnecessary Body Tests

A doctor in Massachusetts, United States, has been sued by over 200 women and several men for sexually abusing patients by performing intrusive examinations. The consolidated lawsuit of hundreds of women across the country stated that Boston-based Dr Derrick Todd repeatedly conducted pelvic exams, breast exams, testicular exams, and rectal exams even when not required. "He seemed to enjoy that a little too much," one of the patients, Kristin Fritz, told The Associated Press (AP) while sharing her experience. She is one of the plaintiffs who have filed the lawsuit in Massachusetts' Suffolk Superior Court.

Speaking to AP, 37-year-old Fritz from New Hampshire shared that she was struggling with a pain in her spine for which Dr Todd unexpectedly groped her breasts in the name of an examination. "I feel so violated. I feel so ashamed of myself for not knowing better at the moment."

Survivors Speak Up

Hundreds of women and several men have been sexually assaulted by Dr Derrick Todd, a rheumatologist and former employee of the Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Boston. The lawsuit combining testimonies gathered in the last few years accuses him of abusing patients since 2010. 

In April 2023, Brigham and Women’s received two anonymous complaints about Todd and launched an internal investigation. The lawsuit also accused several Brigham and Women’s, Charles River Medical Associates, and dozens of other parties as accomplices for knowing about the abuse but failing to stop it. 

Todd was told he couldn't conduct sensitive exams without a chaperone. In July 2023, he was terminated and the hospital said it also notified the Department of Public Health, the state Board of Registration in Medicine, law enforcement and his current and former patients and survivors.

In September 2023, Todd reached a voluntary agreement with the Board of Registration in Medicine to stop practising medicine anywhere in the USA. While no criminal charges have been filed against him, several former patients have been interviewed by law enforcement.

William Thompson, whose law firm represents most of the survivors, told ABC News, "The thing that strikes me about this case is how could this have been going on at the hospital, at the practice group for so long without somebody recognizing ... that something suspicious was going on,” he continued. 

Thomspon said that the survivors ranged in age from teenagers to people (mostly women) in their 60s. The consolidated lawsuit alleged that he would first gain their confidence and manipulate them into agreeing to invasive medical exams without a good reason.