A woman who accused a prominent New York doctor and Iraq War veteran of sexual abuse says in a lawsuit that DNA evidence will prove her allegations.
David Newman, 45, director of clinical research in emergency medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, was arrested last month and accused of drugging, groping and masturbating on a female patient in January, according to a criminal complaint. He was also accused of groping another patient in September.
His attorney, Susan Necheles, said Newman has pleaded not guilty. A court appearance was moved Tuesday to April 18.
“As to the lawsuit, Dr. Newman denies all of her allegations,” Necheles said in a statement. “We believe that the witnesses and other evidence will show that her version of facts is just not the truth.”
The civil lawsuit filed Monday identified the accuser as Aja Newman, who is not related to the doctor.
Aja Newman went to the Mount Sinai emergency room with shoulder pain on the night of January 11, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit said David Newman gave the patient morphine even though “she had already been administered pain medication” and that — “sedated, though conscious” — she heard and saw the doctor masturbating and ejaculating on her face and breasts.
Aja Newman called police after leaving the emergency room, and DNA evidence collected later at Harlem Hospital Center matched that of the doctor, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, names other emergency room staff it says “failed to enforce internal policies” and alleges the hospital “negligently” hired, trained, retained and supervised David Newman and others.
Hospital has suspended doctor
Newman is charged with first- and third-degree sexual abuse and forcible touching, according to the complaint.
He was a major in the U.S. Army Reserves at a combat hospital in Baghdad.
In a statement Tuesday, Mount Sinai Hospital said, “The physician is no longer employed at Mount Sinai. … Since this is a police matter and under litigation, we cannot provide further details.”
At the time of Newman’s arrest, the hospital said it was investigating the charges and “fully cooperating” with authorities.
“We take this matter very seriously,” a hospital statement said. “The health and safety of our patients are of our utmost concern.”
What the complaint says
According to the criminal complaint, a 29-year-old patient in the January case told investigators the doctor gave her morphine even though she had already received a dose of the drug from a nurse.
The woman told investigators “she felt a burning sensation, felt very drowsy, and her eyes closed,” the criminal complaint said. She told investigators she heard Newman masturbating and felt him ejaculating on her. She said she was unable to move or communicate, according to the complaint.
On September 22, Newman allegedly groped a 22-year-old woman who went to Mount Sinai Hospital with a cold, police said. Newman allegedly grabbed her breasts under her shirt, according to a criminal complaint.
Newman is the author of “Hippocrates’ Shadow,” which says the doctor “sees a lack of candid communication between doctors and patients, a disregard for the healing power of the doctor-patient bond … and, ultimately, a disconnect between doctors and their Hippocratic Oath,” according to the back cover. It was first published in 2008.
