Six female physicians, who filed a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against a Yale University anesthesiologist and professor in March, have amended their complaint with additional allegations.
The original suit alleges Manuel Lopes Fontes, MD, former division chief of cardiac anesthesiology at Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital and director of clinical research for the anesthesiology department at Yale School of Medicine, also in New Haven, acted inappropriately with the six female anesthesiologists he supervised. It also alleges he retaliated against them when they rejected him.
Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital are also named as defendants in the suit, and the plaintiffs allege no "meaningful action" was taken against Dr. Fontes, despite multiple complaints.
In the updated complaint, the women allege more instances of sexual harassment, including an incident where Dr. Fontes became inebriated during a work-related dinner and forcibly kissed two of the plaintiffs on the lips. One of the women also alleges that Yale further retaliated against her after the lawsuit was initially filed by not allowing her to volunteer in the hospital's COVID-19 response by providing telehealth consultations.
According to an emailed statement from a Yale spokesperson, the university took appropriate action when approached by the women, "offering them Yale's Title IX resources of support, as well as advice on filing a formal complaint within the university."
"None of the plaintiffs wished to file an internal complaint at that time, and not all of the allegations in the lawsuit were brought forward to the university's attention," the statement reads.
Yale has been working to resolve the issues raised by the plaintiffs, the spokesperson said.
Editor's note: This article was updated 10:21 a.m., June 5, to include a statement from Yale University.