This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
Two lawsuits have been filed against Providence Health and Services and Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland on July 29, Pfau Cochran Veretis Amala (PCVA) confirmed.
The medical institutions are accused of failing to protect patients from alleged sexual abuse by former Dr. Mark Mulholland. In one instance, a patient was left bleeding for days following a gynecological exam.
Lawsuits allege WA hospitals ignored sexual misconduct from a physician
The lawsuits are in response to a report by the Washington State Medical Commission. The report outlines four separate complaints of sexual misconduct by Dr. Mulholland spanning from 2022 to 2024.
In addition to the lawsuits, two new formal complaints have been submitted to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) by individuals who say they were also abused.
According to court documents, staff allegedly received multiple warnings over several years regarding Dr. Mulholland’s behavior, but failed to respond appropriately.
One lawsuit cites a 2017 incident where a patient reported that Dr. Mulholland allegedly conducted a vaginal exam without wearing gloves, physically restrained her during the exam, and made inappropriate contact.
Another account from June 2023 alleges a patient was left in pain and bleeding for days following an invasive exam, during which Dr. Mulholland also allegedly made sexually inappropriate comments.
Plaintiffs argue that the medical centers “dismissed” numerous staff and patient concerns. The Washington State Medical Commission’s findings align with the survivors’ claims, stating that the patient and employee concerns were not adequately addressed.
“Despite receiving multiple complaints about Dr. Mulholland sexually abusing his patients, these institutions failed to take action and allowed his abuse to continue,” said Mallory Allen, the victim’s attorney and partner at PCVA. “Unfortunately, this is part of a pattern we’ve seen time and again – people in positions of immense trust and power abusing others at their most vulnerable, while the institutions sworn to protect them fail to act.”
The lawsuits seek damages for the survivors and aim to hold the institutions accountable for what attorneys describe as systemic failures in patient protection and oversight.
Neither Providence Health & Services nor Kadlec Regional Medical Center has issued a public response to the new legal actions as of this reporting.
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