You went to a doctor because you were sick, injured, or needed help. You were in a hospital gown. You may have been sedated. You may have been unconscious. You were vulnerable in a way that you are not vulnerable anywhere else in your life, because the healthcare system requires you to hand over control of your body to someone you trust to act in your interest. When a healthcare provider uses that vulnerability to sexually assault you, the violation is unlike any other. It is not just an assault on your body. It is an assault on your ability to ever trust the medical system again. It poisons every future doctor’s visit, every examination, every moment when you should be focused on healing but instead are flooded with fear.
I’m Scott DeSalvo. I have been a personal injury attorney in Chicago for over 27 years. I became a lawyer because my father, a Teamster truck driver, suffered a devastating work injury when I was nine years old and then spent 17 years fighting through a system that was supposed to help him. That experience taught me that powerful institutions protect themselves first and the people they are supposed to serve last. If you have been sexually assaulted by a doctor, nurse, therapist, technician, or any other healthcare provider, call me at 312-500-4500. The consultation is free, available 24/7/365, and we speak Spanish. There is no fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Healthcare sexual assault is not like other forms of sexual violence. The healthcare setting creates a specific set of conditions that give predatory providers extraordinary access to victims and extraordinary ability to avoid accountability. Understanding these conditions is essential to understanding why these cases happen, why they are underreported, and why they carry such significant legal value.
The first condition is the power imbalance. A patient in a healthcare setting is in a fundamentally subordinate position. You are sick, injured, or seeking help for a condition that makes you feel vulnerable. The provider has specialized knowledge that you do not have. You are expected to follow their instructions, including instructions to undress, to assume positions that expose your body, and to allow physical contact that you would not tolerate from any other person. You are conditioned to trust the provider’s judgment about what is medically necessary. This power imbalance means that when a provider crosses a boundary, patients often do not immediately recognize that what happened was an assault. They question their own perception. They wonder if the examination was legitimate. They blame themselves for feeling uncomfortable.
The second condition is physical access. Healthcare providers have a degree of access to patients’ bodies that no other professional has. They perform examinations that involve the most intimate areas of the body. They touch patients who are partially or fully undressed. They are alone with patients behind closed doors. A predatory provider can disguise sexual contact as a medical examination, making it extremely difficult for the patient to distinguish between legitimate medical care and assault, particularly in the moment.
The third condition is sedation and incapacitation. Patients who are under anesthesia, conscious sedation, or the influence of medication administered by the provider are completely unable to protect themselves. A study of media-reported cases of rape in healthcare settings found that 24.2 percent of assaults occurred while patients were under sedation, either purposefully sedated by the perpetrator or under general anesthesia. Patients who are assaulted while sedated may not even know what happened. Some wake with a vague sense that something is wrong. Others have fragmented memories that they struggle to piece together. And when they do report what happened, hospitals have been documented claiming that the patient was hallucinating due to post-anesthesia effects, using the very drugs the institution administered as a weapon to discredit the victim.
The fourth condition is the therapy relationship. Psychotherapists, psychiatrists, and counselors occupy a uniquely intimate position. Patients in therapy reveal their deepest vulnerabilities, traumas, fears, and desires. The therapeutic relationship creates a psychological phenomenon called transference, in which the patient develops intense emotional attachment to the therapist. Research has documented that this dynamic makes therapy patients particularly susceptible to sexual exploitation, because the therapist can manipulate the transference to initiate sexual contact that the patient may not recognize as abuse until long after the therapy has ended. Studies show that sexual contact with therapists occurs at conspicuously high rates relative to the small percentage of the population that undergoes therapy, and that patients describe the resulting harm as devastating, including mistrust, isolation, shame, guilt, fear, depression, suicidal tendencies, anger, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The true prevalence of sexual assault by healthcare providers is unknown because these cases are severely underreported. However, the data that does exist is alarming. Estimates suggest that approximately 5 to 10 percent of physicians have had some form of boundary-violating sexual contact with a patient. A representative population study found that 4.5 percent of women and 1.4 percent of men reported experiencing professional sexual misconduct by a healthcare provider at some point during their lives. A U.S. Federation of State Medical Boards survey found that 18 percent of Americans have had an interaction with a physician they believed was acting unethically or unprofessionally.
A 2017 analysis of 101 cases of sexual abuse committed by physicians found that the abuse was repeated in 96 percent of cases, and in 58 percent of those cases, the abuse continued for more than two years. This is one of the most important findings in the literature: healthcare provider sexual assault is almost never a one-time event. Predatory providers are serial offenders who assault multiple patients over extended periods. They are able to do this because the conditions of the healthcare setting enable the abuse, and because the institutions that should be monitoring them fail to act.
A study of reported assaults in healthcare settings found that 44.9 percent of perpetrators were doctors, 24.6 percent were nurses, 5.8 percent were nurse or healthcare assistants, and the remainder were other staff including technicians, cleaners, and security guards. All perpetrators in the study were male. All but one victim were female. The most common assault locations were consulting rooms and clinics, followed by hospital wards and nursing homes. Among the cases studied, 9.1 percent of victims were repeatedly raped, and 6.1 percent died after being assaulted.
Hospitals create multiple opportunities for sexual assault because patients are frequently sedated, incapacitated, or in compromised physical states. Operating rooms, recovery rooms, emergency departments, and intensive care units all involve patients who are partially or fully unconscious. Radiology and imaging suites involve patients in gowns, often alone with a single technician. Private patient rooms allow staff to be alone with patients behind closed doors for extended periods. A survey of directors of psychiatric hospitals found that 36 percent of units reported patient allegations of sexual assault by a staff member.
Private practice offices and outpatient clinics present a particularly high risk because the physician often operates with minimal oversight. There may be no chaperone present during examinations. The physician controls the environment, the schedule, and the patient’s access to other staff. A Chicago Tribune investigation found that doctors and other healthcare providers accused of sexual misconduct kept practicing, sometimes for years, because of gaps in Illinois laws and a licensing agency that was slow to take disciplinary action. In one case documented by the Tribune, an independent doctor continued seeing patients for two and a half years while multiple patients complained to police about his behavior.
The therapy setting creates a unique vulnerability because the relationship is built on emotional intimacy and trust. Sexual violations by therapists represent a particularly devastating form of healthcare assault because the patient has revealed their innermost vulnerabilities to the very person who exploits them. Research documents that 86.5 percent of patients who experienced sexual contact with their therapist suffered negative outcomes, including severe damage to their ability to trust, form relationships, and function in their daily lives. The therapeutic relationship creates what researchers call a transference dynamic that weakens the patient’s capacity to recognize exploitation and to report it.
Elderly patients, patients with cognitive impairments, and patients with physical disabilities in long-term care settings are among the most vulnerable targets of healthcare sexual assault. These patients may be unable to physically resist an assault, may lack the cognitive ability to understand or describe what happened, and may be dismissed as confused or unreliable when they do report. Staff members in these facilities have repeated, prolonged, private access to the same vulnerable patients, day after day.
Dental patients are physically restrained in a reclined position, often with their mouths forced open, and may be under conscious sedation. The dentist operates in extremely close physical proximity and the patient is unable to easily observe the dentist’s hands or actions. These conditions create a setting in which sexual contact can occur and go unrecognized or unreported.
Survivors of healthcare sexual assault face unique barriers to reporting that do not exist in other contexts. The first barrier is uncertainty. Because healthcare requires physical contact, including contact with intimate areas of the body, patients often cannot distinguish between a legitimate examination and an assault in the moment. They may leave an appointment with an uncomfortable feeling but persuade themselves that what happened was normal medical care. They may not recognize the encounter as an assault until months or years later, sometimes not until they describe the experience to another person and see their reaction.
The second barrier is the credibility gap. Healthcare providers are authority figures with professional credentials, community standing, and institutional backing. When a patient accuses a doctor of sexual assault, the patient’s word is weighed against the provider’s credentials and reputation. Hospitals have been documented defending accused providers by claiming the patient misunderstood a legitimate examination, was confused by medication, or experienced post-anesthesia hallucinations. The analysis of 101 physician sexual abuse cases found that in no instance was another person in the room when the abuse occurred, meaning there are rarely witnesses to corroborate the patient’s account.
The third barrier is institutional cover-up. When patients do report sexual assault to the healthcare facility, the facility has a powerful incentive to protect the accused provider and its own reputation rather than to support the patient. Hospitals and practices may conduct inadequate internal investigations, discourage the patient from contacting law enforcement, or pressure the patient to sign confidentiality agreements. The Federation of State Medical Boards found that two-thirds of complaints of physician sexual misconduct received by medical boards were closed before resulting in any disciplinary action.
A healthcare provider who sexually assaults a patient commits an intentional tort, specifically a battery, for which they are personally liable. Under Illinois law, any sexual contact between a healthcare provider and a current patient is a violation of professional ethics and constitutes a battery regardless of whether the patient appeared to consent. The power imbalance inherent in the healthcare relationship means that a patient’s apparent consent is not valid consent. The provider’s duty is to maintain professional boundaries, and any sexual contact during a treatment relationship is a breach of that duty.
The institution that employs or affiliates with the abusive provider bears its own, separate liability. Under respondeat superior, an employer can be held liable for wrongful acts committed by employees within the scope of their employment. Healthcare facilities also face direct negligence claims for negligent hiring if they failed to conduct adequate background checks, negligent supervision if they failed to implement safeguards like chaperone policies and monitoring, negligent retention if they received complaints and failed to investigate or remove the provider, and negligent credentialing if they granted privileges to a provider with a known history of sexual misconduct at other institutions.
Institutional liability is often where the significant financial recovery comes from in these cases, because individual providers may have limited personal assets or insurance coverage for intentional acts, while healthcare institutions carry substantial liability insurance and institutional assets. The hospital or clinic’s negligence in allowing the abuse to occur is a separate, independently compensable wrong.
In addition to civil and criminal remedies, victims of healthcare sexual assault can file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which oversees the licensing of physicians, nurses, therapists, dentists, and other healthcare professionals. IDFPR can investigate complaints and impose disciplinary action including reprimand, probation, suspension, or revocation of the provider’s license. However, a Chicago Tribune investigation found significant gaps in Illinois’s regulatory system. Providers accused of sexual misconduct who practice outside of hospital settings were left largely unchecked until criminal charges were filed. IDFPR’s online records often used euphemistic language like inappropriate conduct and boundary violations rather than disclosing the actual nature of the allegations. Unlike California, Illinois does not require physicians on probation for sexual misconduct to notify their patients.
The IDFPR complaint process is administrative and separate from your civil lawsuit. Filing a complaint may result in the provider losing their license, which protects future patients, but it does not provide financial compensation to you. The civil lawsuit is the mechanism for recovering damages for what you suffered.
For adult victims of healthcare sexual assault, the standard Illinois personal injury statute of limitations of two years from the date of the assault generally applies. However, several exceptions may extend this deadline. The discovery rule may toll the statute of limitations when the victim did not know or could not reasonably have known that the assault occurred, which is common in cases involving sedation. For childhood victims of sexual abuse by healthcare providers, Illinois has eliminated the statute of limitations entirely for abuse occurring on or after January 1, 2014. For older cases, victims may have up to 20 years from the date of discovery. If the provider’s conduct also constitutes medical malpractice, the two-year medical malpractice statute of limitations applies, but with important extensions for situations involving fraudulent concealment.
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If you have been sexually assaulted by a healthcare provider, there are critical steps you should take to protect yourself, preserve evidence, and preserve your legal rights.
Seek medical care from a different provider immediately. If the assault just occurred, go to a hospital emergency department and request a sexual assault forensic exam. This exam collects physical evidence that may be critical to both criminal prosecution and your civil case. Request copies of all medical records from the encounter during which the assault occurred, as well as records from the forensic exam.
Report the assault to law enforcement. File a police report as soon as you are able. A police report creates an official record of the assault and triggers a criminal investigation. Do not rely on the healthcare facility’s internal reporting process alone, because the facility has a financial incentive to minimize and conceal what happened.
File a complaint with IDFPR. You can report healthcare provider misconduct to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. This initiates a licensing investigation that may result in the provider losing their license to practice.
Document everything. Write down exactly what happened, including the date, time, location, what the provider said and did, and what you said and did. Record the names of anyone who was present or nearby. If you reported the assault to the facility, document who you spoke with, what you told them, and how they responded. Preserve any text messages, emails, appointment records, or other communications related to the encounter.
Contact an attorney before speaking with the facility’s representatives or their insurance company. The healthcare facility and its insurer will move quickly to control the narrative, minimize liability, and limit your recovery. They may contact you offering a quick settlement with a confidentiality clause. They may attempt to characterize what happened as a misunderstanding. You need an attorney who understands these cases and who will protect your interests from the beginning.
If a healthcare provider touched you in a way that felt wrong, that made you uncomfortable, or that did not seem related to your medical condition, trust your instinct. Legitimate medical examinations are explained to the patient beforehand, are related to the patient’s presenting complaint, and are conducted professionally. If a provider performed a genital or breast examination without explaining why it was necessary, without your informed consent, without gloves, or while making comments that were sexual rather than medical, that is not legitimate medical care. If you are unsure, an experienced attorney can review the circumstances and help you determine whether the provider’s conduct crossed the line from medical care to assault.
Yes. Many healthcare sexual assault cases involve patients who were sedated or under anesthesia. These cases can be proven through forensic evidence from a sexual assault examination, DNA evidence, surveillance video from the facility, testimony from other patients who were assaulted by the same provider, testimony from staff who witnessed suspicious behavior, and the provider’s own pattern of seeking one-on-one access to sedated patients. Research shows that 96 percent of physician sexual abusers are serial offenders, which means there are almost always other victims whose testimony can corroborate yours.
This is a documented defense strategy used by healthcare facilities. When patients report assault that occurred during or after sedation, some hospitals have dismissed the reports by claiming the patient was experiencing medication-induced hallucinations. This defense is medically and legally challengeable. An experienced attorney will retain anesthesiology and pharmacology experts who can testify about the specific drugs used, their known side effects, and whether the type of detailed, consistent memory you have is consistent with a hallucination or consistent with actual experience. This defense often collapses when other patients come forward with similar reports about the same provider.
Yes. The hospital or clinic has its own, independent liability. If the facility failed to conduct adequate background checks before hiring the provider, failed to implement chaperone policies, failed to investigate prior complaints, or failed to remove the provider after learning of suspicious behavior, the facility is liable for its own negligence. In many cases, the facility’s insurance coverage and institutional assets represent the primary source of financial recovery.
Illinois law and professional ethical standards recognize that any sexual relationship between a therapist and a current patient is a violation of the therapist’s professional duty, regardless of whether the patient appeared to consent. The power imbalance and transference dynamics inherent in the therapeutic relationship mean that the patient’s consent is not freely given. The therapist is the one with the professional obligation to maintain boundaries, and the therapist is the one who bears legal responsibility when those boundaries are violated. You are not at fault.
For adult victims, the general statute of limitations is two years from the date of the assault, but the discovery rule may extend this if you did not immediately recognize what happened as an assault. For childhood victims, there is no statute of limitations for sexual abuse occurring on or after January 1, 2014, in Illinois. Because these deadlines depend on the specific facts of your case, you should consult an attorney as soon as possible to determine your filing window.
I handle healthcare sexual assault cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing upfront, no retainer, no hourly fees, and no cost of any kind unless we recover compensation for you. All investigation costs, expert fees, and litigation expenses are advanced by the firm.
Healthcare provider sexual assault cases require an attorney who understands both the medical and legal dimensions of these cases. You need someone who knows how to investigate a healthcare provider’s background, how to obtain personnel files and internal complaint records from healthcare facilities, how to work with medical experts to prove that the provider’s conduct was not legitimate medical care, and how to present the unique psychological harm of healthcare betrayal to an insurance company or a jury.
I have spent 27 years representing injured people in the Chicago area. I have tried more than 30 cases to jury verdict. I trained at Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College and The Edge program. I understand that the hardest part of these cases is often the first step: telling someone what happened. If you are ready to take that step, I will listen, I will believe you, and I will fight for you.
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Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
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