Doctor on criminal trial for multiple alleged sexual assaults hit with civil lawsuit

A Manitoba doctor on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting five female patients has been hit with a lawsuit by five other women who had accused him previously of subjecting them to unnecessary vaginal exams. The lawsuit filed on May 29 against Dr. Arcel Bissonnette, a family physician who practised in Winnipeg, also name as defendants the Seine Medical Centre and Ste. Anne Hospital—where Dr. Bissonnette worked—as well as Southern Health and Shared Health which are, respectively, regional and provincial health authorities, according to a Winnipeg Free Press report. “The plaintiffs state that upon filing complaints with the clinic and/or health authority, insufficient efforts or no efforts at all were made” to investigate the claims, notify Southern Health, or provide “timely” reports to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, the women allege in a statement of claim filed in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench. Seine Medical Centre and Southern Health made no effort to establish a critical incident review committee following reports of misconduct to themselves, police or the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, according to the claim “The clinic and/or health authority failed to protect subsequent patients from sexual assault and battery by Dr. Bissonnette by continuing to allow him to (practise) on their premises.” Read: Crown stays six sexual assault charges against rural Manitoba doctor The women said they suffered injuries including post-traumatic stress, alcohol addiction, depression and thoughts of suicide, humiliation and emotional and mental distress. The five women behind the lawsuit were among six complainants in a criminal trial that was stayed in January 2023 after new evidence came to light. They say Dr. Bissonnette “sexually assaulted and battered” them during their medical examinations, leaving them “physically, emotionally and mentally distraught.” One woman alleged that when she went to Ste. Anne Hospital with severe abdominal pains, Dr. Bissonnette performed a “painful and excessively long pelvic examination, which was conducted without explanation and which frightened (her).” He then gave her drugs, with no explanation, that “incapacitated” her and resulted in her being hospitalized for seven days, according to the claim. Dr. Bissonnette also subjected her to “stalking behaviours” after she was released from hospital. Read: Roundup: How do Canada's physician colleges differ on handling sexual misconduct complaints? The woman said she tried to file a report with Ste. Anne police in 2017, more than 10 years after the incidents happened. “By the time the Ste. Anne Police Department returned her calls, she had moved (out of province) and was asked to provide a video statement to the RCMP,” stated the claim. Another plaintiff in the lawsuit said Dr. Bissonnette assaulted her during a physical exam in 2017. She reported the incident immediately to a clinic director but nothing was done about it for several months. “After (the director) addressed Dr. Bissonnette, he offered to facilitate an in-person meeting where Dr. Bissonnette would (apologize) to (the woman), which she refused,” the statement of claim alleges. The woman went on to report Dr. Bissonnette’s actions to Ste. Anne police “due to the clinic’s lack of investigation into the incident,” the statement of claim alleges. Read: ‘Extremely serious and very repugnant’: Lifetime ban for doctor who sexually assaulted patient

Doctor on criminal trial for multiple alleged sexual assaults hit with civil lawsuit

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