Hudson
07-20-2008, 12:07 AM
Mesquite doctor faces charge after allegation of inappropriate contact
09:18 PM CDT on Saturday, July 19, 2008
By RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
rabshire@dallasnews.com
A Mesquite neurologist prohibited from seeing female patients in the past because of accusations of inappropriate touching is facing a criminal charge after a young mother made a similar allegation.
Faiz Ahmed, 56, has been charged with assault by contact, a Class C misdemeanor, in connection with an April incident at Dallas Regional Medical Center in Mesquite. A complaint has also been filed with the Texas Medical Board.
Dr. Ahmed dismissed the woman's complaint as "false allegations" and referred inquiries to his Austin attorney, Mike Sharp, who did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Dr. Ahmed's medical privileges at the hospital have been suspended, but he still practices at Southwestern Institute of Neurology, a clinic in Mesquite.
The woman, who was being treated for seizures at the time of the alleged incident, also accuses Dr. Ahmed of overmedicating her and giving her a medicine that he knew she was allergic to. Initially, she was supposed to be in the hospital overnight, she said, but the stay lengthened to three days.
On the third day, she said, the neurologist was alone with her behind a curtain when he had her stand up, he told her, to test her balance.
"He opened the back of my hospital gown, and I didn't have any clothes on underneath it," she said.
She could feel him behind her, she said, and told him she didn't feel well and wanted to lie down.
When she got back into the bed, the doctor lifted the sheet and pulled up her gown, she said.
At that point, she heard footsteps and Dr. Ahmed pulled the sheet up on her bed, she said.
It was another doctor who had come to check on her.
"He could see the concerned look on my face, and he went and got a nurse," the woman said.
Dr. Ahmed left the room, and a nurse came in.
"I was shaking and crying," the woman said. "I told her what had happened."
That nurse went for a supervisor.
"That's when they told me that he had done this before and that he wasn't going to be allowed back in my room," she said.
Past allegations
Dallas Regional Medical Center suspended Dr. Ahmed's privileges in April, hospital spokeswoman Paula Reisdorfer said. She would not discuss whether the action was related to a complaint from a patient.
The woman, who is not being identified because of The Dallas Morning News' policy of not naming alleged victims of sexual assault, filed complaints with the state medical board and Mesquite police.
Jill Wiggins, spokeswoman for the state medical board, would neither confirm nor deny that a complaint against Dr. Ahmed was pending before the board, which next meets Aug. 28.
Mesquite police Lt. Bill Hedgpeth said officers investigated the woman's report and presented the results to the Dallas County district attorney's office, which advised them of the appropriate charge. Assault by contact is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and no jail time, like a traffic ticket.
Lt. Hedgpeth said officers issued Dr. Ahmed a citation in April.
The case was set for court on June 9 but was delayed, municipal court records show. A new court date has not been set.
The woman who filed the complaint said no one told her when the case would go to court so she could testify against the doctor.
This isn't the first time Dr. Ahmed has been accused of misconduct by women he's treated.
In 1993 and 1994, he was practicing in South Texas and was accused by "numerous female patients" of touching them inappropriately, according to a Texas Medical Board report on a hearing involving the neurologist.
Though criminal charges and lawsuits were filed against Dr. Ahmed, he was never found guilty of a crime, according to the report.
"None of the plaintiffs prevailed in trial, nor did [Dr. Ahmed] settle with any of them," the report said.
Nevertheless, his privileges were suspended indefinitely at a hospital in Hidalgo County, and he was allowed to resign.
In February 2003, the state medical board entered an "agreed order" prohibiting Dr. Ahmed from seeing female patients based on the allegations against him and a peer review.
"When there are criminal or civil actions pending, the board usually waits for final resolution before taking any action," said Ms. Wiggins, explaining the time lapse between the hospital's action and the board's.
He did it Before?.... Before.., WTF???
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/072008dnmetmesdoctor.39b31fe.html
09:18 PM CDT on Saturday, July 19, 2008
By RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
rabshire@dallasnews.com
A Mesquite neurologist prohibited from seeing female patients in the past because of accusations of inappropriate touching is facing a criminal charge after a young mother made a similar allegation.
Faiz Ahmed, 56, has been charged with assault by contact, a Class C misdemeanor, in connection with an April incident at Dallas Regional Medical Center in Mesquite. A complaint has also been filed with the Texas Medical Board.
Dr. Ahmed dismissed the woman's complaint as "false allegations" and referred inquiries to his Austin attorney, Mike Sharp, who did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Dr. Ahmed's medical privileges at the hospital have been suspended, but he still practices at Southwestern Institute of Neurology, a clinic in Mesquite.
The woman, who was being treated for seizures at the time of the alleged incident, also accuses Dr. Ahmed of overmedicating her and giving her a medicine that he knew she was allergic to. Initially, she was supposed to be in the hospital overnight, she said, but the stay lengthened to three days.
On the third day, she said, the neurologist was alone with her behind a curtain when he had her stand up, he told her, to test her balance.
"He opened the back of my hospital gown, and I didn't have any clothes on underneath it," she said.
She could feel him behind her, she said, and told him she didn't feel well and wanted to lie down.
When she got back into the bed, the doctor lifted the sheet and pulled up her gown, she said.
At that point, she heard footsteps and Dr. Ahmed pulled the sheet up on her bed, she said.
It was another doctor who had come to check on her.
"He could see the concerned look on my face, and he went and got a nurse," the woman said.
Dr. Ahmed left the room, and a nurse came in.
"I was shaking and crying," the woman said. "I told her what had happened."
That nurse went for a supervisor.
"That's when they told me that he had done this before and that he wasn't going to be allowed back in my room," she said.
Past allegations
Dallas Regional Medical Center suspended Dr. Ahmed's privileges in April, hospital spokeswoman Paula Reisdorfer said. She would not discuss whether the action was related to a complaint from a patient.
The woman, who is not being identified because of The Dallas Morning News' policy of not naming alleged victims of sexual assault, filed complaints with the state medical board and Mesquite police.
Jill Wiggins, spokeswoman for the state medical board, would neither confirm nor deny that a complaint against Dr. Ahmed was pending before the board, which next meets Aug. 28.
Mesquite police Lt. Bill Hedgpeth said officers investigated the woman's report and presented the results to the Dallas County district attorney's office, which advised them of the appropriate charge. Assault by contact is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and no jail time, like a traffic ticket.
Lt. Hedgpeth said officers issued Dr. Ahmed a citation in April.
The case was set for court on June 9 but was delayed, municipal court records show. A new court date has not been set.
The woman who filed the complaint said no one told her when the case would go to court so she could testify against the doctor.
This isn't the first time Dr. Ahmed has been accused of misconduct by women he's treated.
In 1993 and 1994, he was practicing in South Texas and was accused by "numerous female patients" of touching them inappropriately, according to a Texas Medical Board report on a hearing involving the neurologist.
Though criminal charges and lawsuits were filed against Dr. Ahmed, he was never found guilty of a crime, according to the report.
"None of the plaintiffs prevailed in trial, nor did [Dr. Ahmed] settle with any of them," the report said.
Nevertheless, his privileges were suspended indefinitely at a hospital in Hidalgo County, and he was allowed to resign.
In February 2003, the state medical board entered an "agreed order" prohibiting Dr. Ahmed from seeing female patients based on the allegations against him and a peer review.
"When there are criminal or civil actions pending, the board usually waits for final resolution before taking any action," said Ms. Wiggins, explaining the time lapse between the hospital's action and the board's.
He did it Before?.... Before.., WTF???
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/072008dnmetmesdoctor.39b31fe.html