Thirty-five women who allege they were abused by a California OB-GYN are suing him, Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and other medical practices where he worked, the Los Angeles Times reported Oct. 8.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 7, alleges that Barry Brock, MD, made lewd and unsettling comments to patients, groped their breasts and genitals during medically unnecessary exams, engaged in "female genital mutilation" by giving women unneeded sutures, and denied cesarean sections to patients who needed them.
"I know that I never touched or examined a patient in any way for anything but medical reasons," Dr. Brock told the Times. "I know that my comments have never been sexually suggestive or sexual harassment, and that any such allegations have taken a comment completely out of context and distorted it. Any claim that I performed a medical examination or procedure for anything but a medical purpose or conducted it in a way for my own personal gratification, to discourage C-sections, or to sexually harass a patient is an outrageously false claim."
In July, Cedars-Sinai suspended Dr. Brock's hospital privileges after receiving "concerning complaints" from his former patients. His privileges were terminated in September.
"The type of behavior alleged about Dr. Barry Brock is counter to Cedars-Sinai's core values and the trust we strive to earn every day with our patients," a hospital spokesperson told Becker's. "Dr. Brock no longer has privileges to practice medicine at Cedars-Sinai, and we have reported this matter to the California Medical Board. We recognize the legal process must now take its course, and we remain committed to Cedars-Sinai's sacred healing mission and serving our community."
Dr. Brock, 74, has been an attending physician at Cedars-Sinai since early 1980. He left the physician network in 2018 but retained hospital privileges while working at two private practices: Rodeo Drive Women’s Health Center and Beverly Hills OB/GYN. These practices have also been named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Dr. Brock is also facing accusations before the Medical Board of California that accuse him of committing "repeated negligent acts" by failing to give a patient enough pain medication while treating her for a miscarriage and failing to properly clear material from her uterus, among other allegations.
In August, Dr. Brock announced his retirement by the end of the month due to the "uncertainty of how long this process will take."