A lawsuit had been filed against a former Jacksonville doctor and the medical facility he worked at after a sexual assault reportedly took place during a medical exam.
Dr. Om Kapoor, one of the defendants, was charged with exposure of sexual organs and battery after allegedly masturbating on a patient back in March of 2018. He has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial in January.
Kapoor has since resigned from his position at Baptist Health but now both he and Baptist Primary Care are being sued for damages in excess of $15,000 for negligence.
The complaint, filed on Halloween of this year, alleges that Baptist knew that Kapoor had a history of committing these acts while at work yet failed to take corrective action. The complaint cites a 2012 incident at Baptist Infectious Disease Consultants, which it calls "nearly identical" and says the facility failed to take action.
"However, the employer did not report this event and did not take any action to prevent it from happening again."
The complaint says that as a result of the event, the victim suffered mental anguish and loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life.
Baptist Health released the following statement addressing the situation:
“Baptist Health is committed to ensuring quality care and safety for all patients. When a patient complaint was made about Dr. Kapoor in 2012, Baptist Health promptly reported the matter to local law enforcement and the Department of Health. We are not privy to the details of those agencies’ investigations, but he was permitted to continue to practice in Florida without restriction. Dr. Kapoor resigned his privileges in 2018 and no longer practices at Baptist Health. We take any allegations, especially accusations of this nature, very seriously.”
In December of 2017, First Coast News reported that Kapoor was examining the lower extremities/buttocks of the patient when the patient said he felt something wet on his leg. He claimed the doctor cleaned the ejaculate with a napkin which the victim collected and took to the police. Kapoor was arrested thereafter.
