NorthShore Put Patients At Risk Of Indicted Gynecologist: Suits

CHICAGO — According to a pair of lawsuits from former patients, NorthShore University HealthSystem knew of prior complaints of sexual misconduct by one of its gynecologists but did nothing to stop his abuse or notify potential victims. Two women filed civil suits in Cook County Circuit Court under the name “Jane Doe” in January accusing the indicted doctor and the health care system of negligence, battery and violations of the gender violence act.

Dr. Fabio Ortega, 72, is awaiting trial on a single count of criminal sexual assault related to a January 2017 incident in Skokie. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge and previously declined comment about the allegations against him, which range from “inappropriate and outrageous” comments to medically unnecessary physical examinations.

Patch has since learned Ortega, a resident of Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood, is also under criminal investigation in at least two additional north suburban municipalities after other former patients reported sexual misconduct to police. At least four women have so far accused him of sexual abuse under the guise of medical care.

One of the two civil lawsuits was filed Jan. 11 by the woman who initially reported the incident to Skokie police. The other civil lawsuit was filed Jan. 23 by a woman who said she had been unaware how inappropriate her former doctor had been until reading a Skokie Patch report that had been shared on social media.

“That was when I went to the police station to report the uncomfortable questioning followed by an exam that I thought was medically necessary," Doe said this week in an interview. "Which after reading the article became questionable."

The women's suits say NorthShore's failure to discipline, investigate or supervise Ortega served to embolden him with the belief his sexual misconduct "would go unpunished and could continue."

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which administers medical licenses, indefinitely suspended Ortega’s license to practice medicine after his indictment and arrest. On Sept. 17, 2018, a week after his arrest, the department’s chief medical coordinator declared “the continued practice of medicine by Fabio Ortega, M.D., presents an immediate danger to the safety of the public,” according to the first suit filed.

According to the suits, Ortega had been accused of “inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature” by at least two patients prior to the January 2017 complaint in Skokie. In 2012, NorthShore opened an investigation after a complaint of inappropriate conduct, and in 2013 and 2014, IDFPR investigated an allegation that Ortega had asked a patient to meet outside of the office and share her sexual fantasies.

According to a police account of the complaint to state regulators, the woman expressed concern about other female patients being put in a similar situation, but state regulators reported they closed the case after a case worker was unable to make contact with her.

NorthShore told Patch in October 2018 that “upon learning of these allegations well over a year ago, we took immediate steps to remove the physician from patient care.” It said Ortega was no longer “employed or affiliated” but declined to confirm when or if he was terminated or specify his dates of employment.

That claim is false, according to Doe’s suit. After the complaint to police, NorthShore allowed Ortega to continue seeking patients without the presence of a third party, allowing him to work at Evanston Hospital where he was accused of sexually assaulting a new mother, it said.

The lawsuits claim NorthShore placed Ortega on paid leave at some point prior to December 2017, later allowing him to “quietly retire” instead of being fired.

In response to the civil suits, the health system released a statement saying it takes the accusations “very seriously” but was “unable to comment on these allegations.”

The health system said it would “continue to investigate and work with authorities.” Police reports show an lawyer for NorthShore Medical Group said he would call investigators to schedule an interview with the doctor but never did. A civil attorney for the group requested and was allowed to sit in as Ortega was interviewed by Skokie detectives.

“We find any professional misconduct of this nature to be deeply disturbing and not reflective of the high standards of care we stand for and that our patients expect from us,” it said.

NorthShore public relations officials declined to say when, if ever, any of his patients were notified of the abuse allegations.

Doe said she was never notified of the allegations against her doctor, said there was not enough done in the medical profession to hold sexual predators accountable.

“They never contacted me. They never called me. And it’s not like I’m never there in the office. I know the nurses, the staff. I never got a letter or a phone call,” Doe said. “I was never made aware of any complaint. Nobody ever approached me and said, ‘How has your experience been with Dr. Ortega?’ Nothing. Zero.”

According to her suit, Ortega “groomed” the north suburban resident when she was pregnant with her first child in her early 20s, taking advantage of her membership in the Orthodox Jewish faith and her anxiety about being a young wife and becoming a new mother.

“This definitely changed my path. I was going one way and now I’m going another way” Doe said. “This didn’t just affect me, this is affecting my kids, it’s affecting my husband and that’s what’s making me upset.” Though she hoped one day she might emerge from the experience stronger, Doe said her family is currently struggling, “I’m preoccupied in my head with trauma and flashbacks and what he did to me.”

Doe, an active member of her synagogue’s community, said she had hoped to be able to delay filing a lawsuit, but an expiring statute of limitations and the health system’s decision not to allow it to be extended forced her hand.

“I just feel very strongly that NorthShore has failed to keep their patients safe by ignoring complaints or reports and not notifying their patients and I just think that they failed and it’s hurtful,” Doe said. “I trusted them and just to be tossed to the side on this whole issue is very upsetting to me and I’ve never felt so unsafe.”

Arguing NorthShore knew or should have known that Ortega had a history of inappropriate conduct under the guise of providing medical care, both suits seek more than $50,000 in damages

Doe’s lawyer, Tamara Holder, said NorthShore covered up Ortega’s history of misconduct allegations, failed to perform a proper internal investigation and allowing him to continue to victimize patients. She said the conduct of the 130-office medical group that brought in $2.2 billion in revenue last year was reminiscent of other recent cases, including Michigan State University, Columbia University and the University of Southern California, where women have been “finally speaking out about institutions harboring predators that sexually abuse them in the name of medical care.” Holder said the issue is particularly sensitive with OB-GYNs, who are given exceptional trust to examine the most private parts of their female patients.

“Women go to these doctors with the expectation that whatever is done is proper. They doubt themselves for thinking otherwise. As a result, they suppress their trauma,” Holder said. “And rather than institutions having safeguards in place to make sure their patients are safe, they turn a blind eye and then deny responsibility for the lifetime of damage they allowed their doctors to cause these women.”

Doe said she wanted Ortega to be criminally prosecuted and for NorthShore to be held accountable for protecting him. Another priority was the removal of his name from the birth certificate of one of her children.

“I don’t ever want to see his name on a piece of paper connected to my children,” she said. “I don’t ever want my son to say, ‘Oh who’s this doctor?’ ‘Oh, that’s the doctor that sexually assaulted your mother.’”

Earlier: NorthShore Gynecologist Indicted On Sexual Assault Charge