COMPLAINT. Plaintiff, DEANNA HALLIDAY, by and through her undersigned counsel, brings this

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1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR HERNANDO COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: DEANNA HALLIDAY, vs. Plaintiff, DR. ALFRED ETAPU ALINGU and ARECHO MEDICAL CLINIC, LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company, Defendants. / COMPLAINT Plaintiff, DEANNA HALLIDAY, by and through her undersigned counsel, brings this Complaint against Defendants, DR. ALFRED ETAPU ALINGU and ARECHO MEDICAL CLINIC, LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company (hereinafter ARECHO MEDICAL ), and states as follows: JURISDICTION AND PARTIES 1. Plaintiff DEANNA HALLIDAY is an adult female who resides in Hernando County, Florida. 2. Defendant DR. ALFRED ALINGU ( DR. ALINGU ) is a physician licensed and practicing medicine in Florida as an internist. At all materials times, DR. ALINGU was the owner, employee and/or agent of ARECHO MEDICAL. 1

2 3. Defendant ARECHO MEDICAL is a Florida corporation of medical professionals organized and existing under the laws of the State of Florida, and doing business providing medical services in Hernando County at a principal address of Cortez Boulevard, Weeki Wachee, Florida. 4. At all relevant times, ARECHO MEDICAL operated a medical practice and had DR. ALFRED ALINGU working as a medical doctor under its supervision in Hernando County. 5. Defendants engage in substantial and not isolated activity in the State of Florida and Hernando County through their two office locations. 6. This lawsuit seeks damages far exceeding the jurisdictional minimum of this Court of $15,000.00, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney s fees. INTRODUCTION 7. This is an action arising from the sexual battery of DEANNA HALLIDAY (hereinafter DEANNA ) by DR. ALFRED ALINGU during her medical appointment with DR. ALINGU at the office of Defendant ARECHO MEDICAL. This is not a case of medical malpractice. The tortious conduct alleged herein did not arise out of any diagnosis, treatment or care of Plaintiff or even the guise of medical care. In particular, Plaintiff does not allege in this action that Defendant violated any professional standard of care, but rather that she was sexually battered by DR. ALFRED ALINGU while on ARECHO MEDICAL s premises. 8. A medical practice which employs physicians to render medical treatment to patients must enforce safety rules to prevent harm to the patients in its care. 9. A safety rule that must be enforced by the medical practice is that persons who have a history of sexual misconduct with women should not be hired, retained, and/or given unsupervised access to female patients. 2

3 10. A foreseeable harm of a medical practice hiring, retaining, and/or failing to adequately supervise or discipline a doctor with a history of sexual misconduct with females is that the doctor will sexually assault a female patient. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS 11. ARECHO MEDICAL is a primary care medical practice specializing in Internal Medicine and Family Practice. To that end, it employs DR. ALINGU and other health practitioners to provide the highest quality of health care to its patients. 12. In or about January 2014, DEANNA HALLIDAY s primary care physician, DR. ALFRED ALINGU, noticed a bruise on her face. After learning that DEANNA s husband had hit her, DR. ALINGU told DEANNA that if she divorced her husband, he would come and visit her at her home. DR. ALINGU then put his hand on her thigh and started rubbing her thigh inappropriately causing DEANNA to freeze in discomfort. 13. In or about February 2014, while conducting an examination of the moles appearing on DEANNA s arms, face, and legs, DR. ALINGU said to DEANNA, Why do you have me touching you like this, you make my penis feel funny. As he said this, he rubbed his genitals up against her right leg. Such behavior caused DEANNA to cringe and subsequently drive home crying. 14. In or about March 2014, DEANNA returned to DR. ALINGU despite feeling uncomfortable being alone with him because she needed a prescription refilled and was informed by ARECHO MEDICAL staff that she could not obtain said prescription without being seen by the Doctor each month. 3

4 15. In or about March 2014, during the aforementioned appointment, DEANNA requested that DR. ALINGU refer her to a lengthy list of doctors. DR. ALINGU told DEANNA that he could not refer her to all of the requested Doctors, before he started touching DEANNA on her face. DR. ALINGU then rubbed his hands down DEANNA s arms, grabbed her right hand, moved his hands down her upper thighs and rubbed her upper buttocks region sliding his hand down the back of her pants. DR. ALINGU then put his arms around DEANNA and forcefully pulled her toward him, hugging her and saying, We can still be friends can t we? DEANNA froze in discomfort, afraid to say anything to DR. ALINGU based on his size and out of fear that he would refuse to prescribe her the medications that she desperately needed. 16. In or about March 2014, DR. ALINGU again told DEANNA that if she divorced her husband, he would come visit her at her home. DEANNA feared that DR. ALINGU would appear at her home uninvited because her home address was located in her medical file. Such fear caused DEANNA to suffer from paranoia, terrible nightmares, and the need to check the locks on her doors and windows compulsively throughout the day. 17. In or about May 2014, DR. ALINGU looked up and down the hallway upon entering the examination room as he did when entering each appointment with DEANNA. DR. ALINGU then asked DEANNA why she brought her husband with her to her appointment in April. DR. ALINGU told DEANNA to come to her appointments alone in the future. 18. While speaking with DEANNA, DR. ALINGU was touching DEANNA s arms. He touched her inner thigh and ran his left hand down the back of her pants and touched her buttocks. DR. ALINGU took DEANNA s vitals and used a stethoscope something that he does not normally do positioning his hands in a manner that allowed him to brush DEANNA s breast for an abnormal length of time. 4

5 19. In or about July 2014, DEANNA brought her son with her to her appointment with DR. ALINGU at which time, her son witnessed DR. ALINGU put his hand on her right thigh and run his hand up and down her thigh. Her son also witnessed DR. ALINGU use his left hand to rub DEANNA s back as he slid his hand down the back of her pants and touched her buttocks. The inappropriate behavior of DR. ALINGU was so apparent that DEANNA s son confronted her about why DR. ALINGU was touching her like that. COUNT I SEXUAL BATTERY (AGAINST DEFENDANT DR. ALFRED ALINGU) Plaintiff repeats and re-alleges the allegations in Paragraphs 1 through 19 above. 20. DR. ALINGU committed sexual battery upon DEANNA HALLIDAY consisting of intentional, harmful, unwanted and offensive sexual contact upon her person of her arms, thighs, back, breasts and buttocks. 21. There was no medical reason for this offensive sexual contact. 22. As a direct and proximate cause of the foregoing, DEANNA HALLIDAY has suffered psychological and emotional injury, mental anguish and the loss of enjoyment of life. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, DEANNA HALLIDAY, demands judgment against Defendant DR. ALFRED ALINGU for compensatory damages, costs and such other and further relief as this Court deems proper. COUNT II RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR / VICARIOUS LIABILITY (AGAINST DEFENDANT ARECHO MEDICAL CLINIC, LLC) Plaintiff repeats and re-alleges Paragraphs 1 through 19 above. 5

6 23. As both an owner and physician of ARECHO MEDICAL, DR. ALINGU was at all material times an employee, appointee and/or agent of ARECHO MEDICAL. 24. DR. ALINGU committed acts of sexual battery on DEANNA HALLIDAY by offensively touching DEANNA s arms, thighs, breast, back, and buttocks areas in a sexual manner without DEANNA s consent. 25. DR. ALINGU was authorized by ARECHO MEDICAL to be alone with DEANNA HALLIDAY and other patients, and to have unfettered and unsupervised control and access to DEANNA while DEANNA was there for medical appointments. 26. The acts of battery and offensive touching in a sexual manner perpetrated by DR. ALINGU on DEANNA HALLIDAY occurred in an ARECHO MEDICAL patient room where DR. ALINGU was required to perform his employment duties, and his contact with DEANNA was initiated within the course and scope of DR. ALINGU s performance of those duties. 27. The acts of battery described above occurred during DR. ALINGU s working hours while he was there to examine a patient at ARECHO MEDICAL. 28. DR. ALINGU s initial contact and relationship with DEANNA was in furtherance of ARECHO MEDICAL s business interests. 29. In addition, DR. ALINGU was authorized by ARECHO MEDICAL to touch DEANNA HALLIDAY. DR. ALINGU extended and converted this authorized touching into acts of sexual assault and battery of DEANNA as described above. 30. ARCECHO MEDICAL ratified the sexual misconduct of DR. ALINGU. 31. As a result of the sexual battery described herein, DEANNA HALLIDAY has suffered psychological, emotional and physical injuries. 6

7 32. Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, ARECHO MEDICAL is responsible for the negligent, reckless, and intentional actions of its servant, DR. ALINGU, committed in the apparent scope of his duties. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, DEANNA HALLIDAY, demands judgment against Defendant, ARECHO MEDICAL CLINIC, LLC, for compensatory damages, costs and such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper. COUNT III NEGLIGENCE (AGAINST DEFENDANT ARECHO MEDICAL, LLC) Plaintiff repeats and re-alleges Paragraphs 1 through 19 above. 33. At all material times, ARECHO MEDICAL owed a duty to DEANNA HALLIDAY to use reasonable care to ensure her safety, care and well-being while she was on its premises to obtain medical services from its physician. 34. These duties encompassed the hiring, retention and supervision of DR. ALINGU and ensuring that its facility was otherwise free from foreseeable harm. 35. ARECHO MEDICAL breached its duty of care to DEANNA HALLIDAY by failing to protect her from sexual battery and lewd and lascivious acts committed by its agent, DR. ALINGU. 36. At all relevant times, ARECHO MEDICAL knew or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known that DR. ALINGU was unfit, dangerous, and a threat to the safety and welfare of women entrusted to him for medical services. 7

8 37. Despite such actual or constructive knowledge, ARECHO MEDICAL retained DR. ALINGU, failed to exercise adequate supervision of DR. ALINGU, and placed its female patients at risk of foreseeable harm from DR. ALING in its office. 38. As a direct and proximate cause of the foregoing, DEANNA HALLIDAY has suffered psychological and emotional injuries, mental anguish and the loss of enjoyment of life. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, DEANNA HALLIDAY, demands judgment against Defendant, ARECHO MEDICAL CLINIC, LLC, for compensatory damages, costs and such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper. JURY TRIAL DEMAND Plaintiff demands a trial by jury and all issues so triable as a matter of right. CERTIFICATE RE: E-FILING AND E-SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that this Complaint was filed electronically in compliance with Florida Rules of Judicial Administration and 2.516(e). WE HEREBY CERTIFY, that a true and correct copy of the foregoing was served with the Summons filed herein. I FURTHER CERTIFY for purposes of service of any documents after initial process that staff.efile@pathtojustice.com is primary. Dated: February 4, 2015 FARMER, JAFFE, WEISSING, EDWARDS, FISTOS & LEHRMAN, P.L. Attorneys for Plaintiff 425 North Andrews Avenue, Suite 2 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (954) TELEPHONE (954) Fax BY: /s/ Adam D. Horowitz ADAM D. HOROWITZ Florida Bar No.: