David Newman allegations

[DocEspana]

Each and every one of you has made th3 same mistake so far. So let me further point out the absurdity of this all.

Reread the original story. She neither knows she got morphine nor that she even got an injection. Her story is that while she was looking away she felt a phantom pinch and warm sensation in her arm which she assumed was morphine and assumed was an IM needle but she saw and heard nothing which wold make her think that except her own conjecture.

She implies she coudlnt be sure because she was incapacitated so quickly afterwards. Even my favorite drug in the world, special K, doesn't work that fast IM. I can't think of a single drug in the world except paralytics (which this does not sound like) that work thst fast IV let alone that fast and IM. Morphine, especially not morphine IM, doesn't work anything like that except in the insanity addled brains of patients.

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[pkwraith]

Even having a scribe or a witness in your room for everything doesn't protect you from being smeared in the media. Because of HIPAA, you and the hospital can't even admit to the media you saw the patient, let alone defend yourself in any capacity by giving your side of the story, no matter how ludicrous the accusor's story is. Even if the cops drop the charges, as long as they investigate or a complaint is filed, the media can just report that and your name is smeared without reasonable recourse.

 

[PlutoBoy]

Each and every one of you has made th3 same mistake so far. So let me further point out the absurdity of this all.

Reread the original story. She neither knows she got morphine nor that she even got an injection. Her story is that while she was looking away she felt a phantom pinch and warm sensation in her arm which she assumed was morphine and assumed was an IM needle but she saw and heard nothing which wold make her think that except her own conjecture.

She implies she coudlnt be sure because she was incapacitated so quickly afterwards. Even my favorite drug in the world, special K, doesn't work that fast IM. I can't think of a single drug in the world except paralytics (which this does not sound like) that work thst fast IV let alone that fast and IM. Morphine, especially not morphine IM, doesn't work anything like that except in the insanity addled brains of patients.

The problem is not whether she got morphine or not. The question here is does she have his semen on her gown and if so, why?

We should know the answer in a month.

 

[SoCuteMD]

I find this absolutely terrifying, and so should everyone here. I have no idea what transpired, but I do know that no matter what proof is or isn't found, these accusations will follow him around for life. I especially feel for his family, as this has to be an incredibly hard time for them. I worked with Dr. Newman briefly during a medical school rotation and have nothing but the utmost respect for him.

 

[SoCuteMD]

The way Dr. Sagoda and the nurse reacted also doesn't look good for him.

I'm curious by what you mean by this, as the accounts I read said that Dr. Jagoda offered to call the police. From my perspective, that seems like an appropriate response from another physician. This woman may or may not be crazy/hallucinating/whatever but covering it up certainly isn't going to help matters at all. I expect that if he were presented with a similar situation, my chair would do the same. And, FWIW, the stories got Jagoda's position wrong - he's actually the chair and Dr. Newman's boss, not the other way around.

 

[deleted547339]

This.

In before the clone account accusations.

Dude. USE THE REPLY TO MULTIPLE COMMENTS BUTTON!

 

[Birdstrike]

Something worth keeping in mind:

Anytime I've personally had inside knowledge of something being reported in the news, I've been shocked at how wrong they often are, with details wrong, key information missing & facts flat-out wrong or half-wrong.

 

[Boatswain2PA]

I have been closely involved with several major national (and international) news events, including being in position to approve press releases and be interviewed, and the media ALWAYS screws up what actually happened.

Only exception is small local newspapers who print, nearly word for word, accurately written press releases.

 

[Jlaw]

There is no way the patient would be sent to prison or even be charged with a crime for this. It would just get written off as her having hallucinations due to the narcotics.

NYPD tends to charge first and let the courts figure it out. if they find its baseless I wouldn't be surprised if she is charged with filing a false report, who knows if they would just let it slide.

Since he has been charged and based on what I've read it doesn't sound like she made it up though.

 

[Psai]

I can't believe that they would drag his name through the mud just from an accusation, there hasn't even been a trial yet. So anytime someone goes around and claims that someone else did something, we're supposed to just believe the accusation and smear people?

 

[ThoracicGuy]

I can't believe that they would drag his name through the mud just from an accusation, there hasn't even been a trial yet. So anytime someone goes around and claims that someone else did something, we're supposed to just believe the accusation and smear people?

Isn't that what happened with the Columbia mattress girl? What about "Jackie" at UVA? There is a rush to accept and believe any woman for any alleged sexual attack, but sometimes they lie....

 

[Whoops12]

A couple of things I am wondering?

In a city as big as NYC don't you think the police and medical board get complaints of docs doing wild things with some frequency?

I would assume(possibly wrongly) that the DA would be cautious in charging a prominent physician on flimsy evidence. I am sure there is someone at Mt. Sinai well connected as a donor to the DA or mayor or whomever and would imagine that charges would not be brought without reasonable evidence.

Can someone post the actual charging court documents?

 

[Birdstrike]

Anyone notice that the alleging victim said the injection burned going in? Morphine doesn't burn much. Propofol does. Morphine isn't a very good sedative/hypnotic. Propofol is. Propofol fits the story, & possible modus operandi much better, from the standpoint of criminal profiling.






"Allegedly"

 

[Jlaw]

I can't believe that they would drag his name through the mud just from an accusation, there hasn't even been a trial yet. So anytime someone goes around and claims that someone else did something, we're supposed to just believe the accusation and smear people?

Kinda how it works unfortunately. A few weeks ago in NYC a girls father alleged that he was drinking beer with her in the park in NYC and 5 teens came in, ordered him to leave at gunpoint, and then raped her. It later came out that he was so intoxicated that he was barely able to get help. They arrested the 5 kids, and the NY papers and community leaders slammed the police saying they waited two days to make the incident public. Then two of the teens alleged that the girl and her dad were having sex and let them join in..sounded like it couldn't get any crazier until a video emerged and the cops ended up releasing them pending further investigation and DNA tests on the father. SO now for better or worse 7 people have been dragged through the mud and its still not clear who, if anyone, did anything wrong.

 

[PlutoBoy]

Kinda how it works unfortunately. A few weeks ago in NYC a girls father alleged that he was drinking beer with her in the park in NYC and 5 teens came in, ordered him to leave at gunpoint, and then raped her. It later came out that he was so intoxicated that he was barely able to get help. They arrested the 5 kids, and the NY papers and community leaders slammed the police saying they waited two days to make the incident public. Then two of the teens alleged that the girl and her dad were having sex and let them join in..sounded like it couldn't get any crazier until a video emerged and the cops ended up releasing them pending further investigation and DNA tests on the father. SO now for better or worse 7 people have been dragged through the mud and its still not clear who, if anyone, did anything wrong.

Isn't incest illegal?

 

[neontetras]

sort of restating what i just typed before, but he might come out of this fine. Newman isn't a no name doctor or even a regionally relevant doctor. He is one of the top 10 (perhaps top 5) minds in academic emergency medicine.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/n...column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

I hope the evidence proves Dr. Newman is innocent soon. I honestly believe that only people who have worked with Dr. Newman (at any point in his training or specifically during his time at Mount Sinai) will understand how crazy these allegations sound. It has been very upsetting for all of us.

We should not jump on the bandwagon and start bashing anyone just because another person made some accusations. It is unbelievable how we allow ourselves to be manipulated by the media. Our critical reading skills apply to research papers but not to news articles from trashy "journalism" sites? We are only as crazy as the things we believe.

In the end, you can either shut up and wait for the facts or speculate the crap out of this situation. If you choose the latter, you are no better than the hysterical people of the Salem Witch Trials and you surely do NOT possess the logical soundness necessary to practice medicine.

Dr. David H. Newman remains innocent until proven guilty.

 

[Birdstrike]

Isn't incest illegal?

It's certainly not legit.

 

[NurWollen]

The story hit CNN this morning.

 

[DocEspana]

The story hit CNN this morning.

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffudge

 

[erdoc00]

I personally hope he did it just so that there is some legitimacy to the witch hunt and premature calls for him to be burned at the stake.


Regardless, the American media is a despicable, self serving entity. Every day we move closer and closer to a society modeled on the movie Idiocracy.

edit: does anyone know if Nancy grace has weighed in with her enlightened opinion yet?

 

[NurWollen]

I personally hope he did it just so that there is some legitimacy to the witch hunt and premature calls for him to be burned at the stake.


Regardless, the American media is a despicable, self serving entity. Every day we move closer and closer to a society modeled on the movie Idiocracy.

edit: does anyone know if Nancy grace has weighed in with her enlightened opinion yet?

Journalism is dead, sacrificed at the altar of click bait.

 

[Birdstrike]

The story hit CNN this morning.

Yep.

And I hope everything in this report turns out to be false:

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/01/21/new-york-doctor-sexual-abuse-allegations.wpix

 

[Jlaw]

Times article yesterday said his lawyer refused to comment and only said the allegations will be "dealt with in a responsible manner". You can't get more tepid than that. If I was accused of this and didn't do it I would be denying it, loudly. If I know I didn't do anything wrong then I know she does not have my semen and therefore no case so what do I have to lose by denying the allegations publicly? There really isn't a gray area here, she either has his semen and he's screwed or she doesn't and she's crazy.

 

[Angry Birds]

Times article yesterday said his lawyer refused to comment and only said the allegations will be "dealt with in a responsible manner". You can't get more tepid than that. If I was accused of this and didn't do it I would be denying it, loudly. If I know I didn't do anything wrong then I know she does not have my semen and therefore no case so what do I have to lose by denying the allegations publicly? There really isn't a gray area here, she either has his semen and he's screwed or she doesn't and she's crazy.

You have a point, but the issue is that such reporting (like the CNN clip) is basically proclaiming him guilty before he even has a trial or a chance to defend himself. It's irresponsible, and should be illegal in my opinion. Just listen to the reporter's voice...

At least one should wait for *some* objective evidence to come back, i.e. the semen results, instead of jumping the gun and tarnishing his reputation before that.

 

[Jlaw]

You have a point, but the issue is that such reporting (like the CNN clip) is basically proclaiming him guilty before he even has a trial or a chance to defend himself. It's irresponsible, and should be illegal in my opinion. Just listen to the reporter's voice...

At least one should wait for *some* objective evidence to come back, i.e. the semen results, instead of jumping the gun and tarnishing his reputation before that.

I fully agree. I personally like to hear facts only on the news and hate when reporters or papers take a lean on an issue, opinions, veiled or not, should be saved for the editorials section. But alas, the general public wants to be spoonfed their news and told how to react to it, they also want a ticker tape of anonymous Twitter comments running along the bottom of the screen just in case they were tempted to form their own opinions.

 

[Angry Birds]

I fully agree. I personally like to hear facts only on the news and hate when reporters or papers take a lean on an issue, opinions, veiled or not, should be saved for the editorials section. But alas, the general public wants to be spoonfed their news and told how to react to it, they also want a ticker tape of anonymous Twitter comments running along the bottom of the screen just in case they were tempted to form their own opinions.

Agreed. And I think they like to take down "great men", i.e. physicians in this case.

 

[deleted547339]

I personally hope he did it just so that there is some legitimacy to the witch hunt and premature calls for him to be burned at the stake.

Dude. Not OK. You're talking about a person's life; a person who is a father to two young children and a wife (who is also a prominent EM doc). Have some freaking empathy and pray she's just a crazy chick and his lawyer advised him to stay quiet because he knows he will be exonerated.

Hoping justice is served if he did do it is one thing, hoping he did it is entirely sick.

 

[deleted245139]

There really is no happy ending here.... At all. And that's tragic.

 

[Birdstrike]

There really is no happy ending here.... At all. And that's tragic.

Nice pun.

 

[deleted480308]

Times article yesterday said his lawyer refused to comment and only said the allegations will be "dealt with in a responsible manner". You can't get more tepid than that. If I was accused of this and didn't do it I would be denying it, loudly. If I know I didn't do anything wrong then I know she does not have my semen and therefore no case so what do I have to lose by denying the allegations publicly? There really isn't a gray area here, she either has his semen and he's screwed or she doesn't and she's crazy.

you can't determine guilt/innocence off the tenor of a lawyers statement. legal tactics and public relations are complicated, everyone needs to breath for a few minutes and just wait for the test results.

 

[EpiStatus]

We all don't want this to be true of a colleague but we are being incredibly biased here. Ready to make all sorts of assumptions and armchair diagnoses of the accusers that we have never evaluated. I am sure if you ask their families and peers they would swear the accusers would never make up such awful lies either. It is unfortunate that the nature of the complaint is so despicable that it would crush any great physician's reputation just by being reported at all. But I do not see this massive media witch hunt you all are going on about. The language of reportage "allegedly", "claims", "has been accused" is pretty standard when reporting any crime. The NYTimes specifically mentioned his great achievements and quoted colleagues who vouched for him. It is ridiculous that we paragons of "critical thinking" would rather believe there is a huge big pharma conspiracy to bring this guy down. Yes let's assume he is innocent until proven guilty. We can assume the accusers are not clinically insane until proven otherwise as well.

 

[DocEspana]

It is ridiculous that we paragons of "critical thinking" would rather believe there is a huge big pharma conspiracy to bring this guy down.

Okay. No one said this but me. And for the third time now in this thread, I was joking.

 

[racerwad]

Times article yesterday said his lawyer refused to comment and only said the allegations will be "dealt with in a responsible manner". You can't get more tepid than that. If I was accused of this and didn't do it I would be denying it, loudly. If I know I didn't do anything wrong then I know she does not have my semen and therefore no case so what do I have to lose by denying the allegations publicly? There really isn't a gray area here, she either has his semen and he's screwed or she doesn't and she's crazy.

I am certainly no lawyer, but doesn't HIPPA prevent him (or his counsel) from directly acknowledging that he treated the pt, and therefore prevents him from addressing any of the claims made because they are part of the clinical encounter?

 

[deleted109597]

I am certainly no lawyer, but doesn't HIPPA prevent him (or his counsel) from directly acknowledging that he treated the pt, and therefore prevents him from addressing any of the claims made because they are part of the clinical encounter?

Nope. He can say he was her doctor. But not the reason he was treating her.
That's why on the news they can say "John Doe is at County Hospital in serious condition". They can't say "John Doe is at County Hospital in serious condition for priaprism, where he's had an erection for greater than 4 hours like they warn you about on those commercials."

 

[racerwad]

Nope. He can say he was her doctor. But not the reason he was treating her.
That's why on the news they can say "John Doe is at County Hospital in serious condition". They can't say "John Doe is at County Hospital in serious condition for priaprism, where he's had an erection for greater than 4 hours like they warn you about on those commercials."

Right, that makes sense. I thought that it prevents Newman and/or his lawyer from discussing the details while the women are free to say what they'd like.

 

[deleted547339]

Right, that makes sense. I thought that it prevents Newman and/or his lawyer from discussing the details while the women are free to say what they'd like.

He could certainly say more than he has, but any lawyer worth their salt would advise him to not say a word.

 

[deltamed]

He could certainly say more than he has, but any lawyer worth their salt would advise him to not say a word.

Why? Damage to his reputation would be much lessened if he came out saying something like "unfortunately, I cannot discuss details due to hippa but I strongly reject the absurd accusations against me and look forward to the evidence coming out that will clear my name." I don't see how that could hurt him from a legal perspective. If I were innocent I'd be begging my lawyer to let me defend myself at least in generalities.

 

[Jlaw]

I am certainly no lawyer, but doesn't HIPPA prevent him (or his counsel) from directly acknowledging that he treated the pt, and therefore prevents him from addressing any of the claims made because they are part of the clinical encounter?

It certainly doesn't preclude him from saying she's a crazy liar and if thats the truth he should say it. This isn't going away for him whether he buries his head in the sand or confronts it head on. If he's loud about it and innocent he will be remembered as the guy who was falsely accused, stood up for himself and was exonerated. If he's quiet and innocent he will be the guy who gave the patient the facial or something that no one ever heard from again.

If the lawyer knew 100% that he didn't do anything and none of his swimmers were going to be found he has no need to posture because there is no need to keep his mouth shut to score a deal with the DA or settlement with the accusers. I would bet money that the first thing the lawyer did after cashing his retainer was say "alright doc, could there be semen on those blankets or not?" Any answer other than an unequivocal no, then the lawyer needs to say as little as possible because behind the scenes he is trying to play his cards and score a pre trial deal for his client so he can avoid jail time.

 

[deleted547339]

It certainly doesn't preclude him from saying she's a crazy liar and if thats the truth he should say it. This isn't going away for him whether he buries his head in the sand or confronts it head on. If he's loud about it and innocent he will be remembered as the guy who was falsely accused, stood up for himself and was exonerated. If he's quiet and innocent he will be the guy who gave the patient the facial or something that no one ever heard from again.

If the lawyer knew 100% that he didn't do anything and none of his swimmers were going to be found he has no need to posture because there is no need to keep his mouth shut to score a deal with the DA or settlement with the accusers. I would bet money that the first thing the lawyer did after cashing his retainer was say "alright doc, could there be semen on those blankets or not?" Any answer other than an unequivocal no, then the lawyer needs to say as little as possible because behind the scenes he is trying to play his cards and score a pre trial deal for his client so he can avoid jail time.

That's not how it works. He may very well be guilty, but a wise attorney would counsel his client to stay silent. You open yourself up for follow up questions. The general public already thinks doctors are arrogant, no need to add to that. If there is no evidence, he comes out clean and nothing he says matters.

 

[Jlaw]

That's not how it works. He may very well be guilty, but a wise attorney would counsel his client to stay silent. You open yourself up for follow up questions. The general public already thinks doctors are arrogant, no need to add to that. If there is no evidence, he comes out clean and nothing he says matters.

For the average joe in trouble for something you are right, but this guy has become an international news story, he is on trial in the media and court of public opinion as well as in the criminal court of NY. I don't think denying the charges opens him up for anything, if he is innocent.

 

[Gastrapathy]

It is terribly sad that a bunch of allegedly educated people are parsing his attorneys words to determine guilt or innocence. Imagine the damage done amongst the lay public. Shame on you.

It is incredibly unlikely this is true. If it is true, those of you who rushed to judgment aren't any less wrong for your behavior but you'll think you were.

 

[Jlaw]

It is terribly sad that a bunch of allegedly educated people are parsing his attorneys words to determine guilt or innocence. Imagine the damage done amongst the lay public. Shame on you.

It is incredibly unlikely this is true. If it is true, those of you who rushed to judgment aren't any less wrong for your behavior but you'll think you were.

I'm not passing any kind of judgement, I honestly hope for his and his family's sake that he is innocent. I just don't understand how anyone could let his name get dragged through the mud like this without saying anything. My point is more that the media loves the story now- sex, doctors, drugs, etc....but if he keeps quiet and they drop charges half the papers that covered the allegations will just ignore it. If I were him I would want the fact that I was railroaded to be as big of a story as her original allegation.

 

[odoreater]

I'm not passing any kind of judgement, I honestly hope for his and his family's sake that he is innocent. I just don't understand how anyone could let his name get dragged through the mud like this without saying anything. My point is more that the media loves the story now- sex, doctors, drugs, etc....but if he keeps quiet and they drop charges half the papers that covered the allegations will just ignore it. If I were him I would want the fact that I was railroaded to be as big of a story as her original allegation.

With all due respect--the above truly demonstrates your abject ignorance to the legal system, experience with legal proceedings (malpractice, criminal or otherwise), and fourth year medical student misconceptions. Wait until you or a colleague are accused of any sort of non-criminal wrongdoing regarding a patient and see how your righteous indignation is subverted into legal proceedings, HIPPA violations, and the inability to state what you truly believe due to the exorbitant external requirements of procedure and legal restrictions. Until then may I suggest focusing on things that are more relevant and pressing to your understandings such as securing a match.

 

[deleted245139]

Nice pun.

Haha, hadn't even intended that... Was being genuine. There's no winning, even if he's vindicated.

 

[Arcan57]

I'm not passing any kind of judgement, I honestly hope for his and his family's sake that he is innocent. I just don't understand how anyone could let his name get dragged through the mud like this without saying anything. My point is more that the media loves the story now- sex, doctors, drugs, etc....but if he keeps quiet and they drop charges half the papers that covered the allegations will just ignore it. If I were him I would want the fact that I was railroaded to be as big of a story as her original allegation.

No one would care. Doctor falsely accused of ejaculating on patient isn't a story. Unless she's a prior mistress trying to burn him, it's hard to construct a scenario where there is any interest behind why she made the accusation. Any response on his part just perpetuates the current story line and invites the writing of an article that is two sentences of "I would never do such a thing and I don't know why she would have accused me" and 3 paragraphs re-capping the original accusation. Railing against her doesn't help him keep his license or stay out of jail which is what I'm sure he and his lawyer are focused on.

 

[Jlaw]

With all due respect--the above truly demonstrates your abject ignorance to the legal system, experience with legal proceedings (malpractice, criminal or otherwise), and fourth year medical student misconceptions. Wait until you or a colleague are accused of any sort of non-criminal wrongdoing regarding a patient and see how your righteous indignation is subverted into legal proceedings, HIPPA violations, and the inability to state what you truly believe due to the exorbitant external requirements of procedure and legal restrictions. Until then may I suggest focusing on things that are more relevant and pressing to your understandings such as securing a match.

This isn't a malpractice case, those are complex and open to interpretation, this is not. Anyway I guess we will have to agree to disagree, I do not think this is going to turn out well for him the way he is handling it.

 

[Old Grunt]

Okay. No one said this but me. And for the third time now in this thread, I was joking.

That's what you get for trying to bring humor to SDN.

Chump.

 

[Old Grunt]

That's not how it works. He may very well be guilty, but a wise attorney would counsel his client to stay silent. You open yourself up for follow up questions. The general public already thinks doctors are arrogant, no need to add to that. If there is no evidence, he comes out clean and nothing he says matters.

 

[deleted480308]

thank you....I was on my phone earlier and couldn't figure out how to link this. It's one of the most useful things ever put on youtube

 

[deleted547339]

This isn't a malpractice case, those are complex and open to interpretation, this is not. Anyway I guess we will have to agree to disagree, I do not think this is going to turn out well for him the way he is handling it.

You really should stop. You clearly don't understand how the law works.